I have liked RedHat since about version 3 for many reasons. Two of them you already mentioned.
- I like RPM.
- More things are available as it has become the defacto standard.
- I believe their system is laid out more sensibly.
- Software is kept up to date, usually configured the way I like it, and more times than not everything just plain works.
- Since I picked it as my primary back around version 3 over the Slackware (used to prefer Slackware) I just never had a reason to switch back, it worked.
- I don't believe they will go out of business anytime soon and for the most part they haven't as a business done anything to piss me off.
- I believe they are the most "polished". Because they are a business it's easier to recommend as the distro of choice for IT departments.
- Familiarity
- Good support and problem resolution
- Quick patches and security updates
Now, there are disadvantages relating to the above as well. Because they are the most popular they are more of a target for script kiddies. You definitely need to keep up on upgrades and security patches as script kiddies look for default distribution installs with known vulnerabilities. If you update your software, even if the updates themselves expose new vulnerabilities script kiddies are usually thwarted. An older default RedHat install which is insecurely configured usually can be owned by script kiddies fairly easily. Like anything else you need to be smart and keep your system upgraded and securely configured. But I believe the pros far outweigh the cons.
I also like Debian a lot and apt is better than RPM in many ways but there are many disadvantages to using Debian, and apt alone usually isn't enough to overcome those disadvantages. I use Debian on Sparc for example. FreeBSD is also a good *NIX but I like RedHat for desktop use and most server uses. Now these are only my *opinions*. I try not to push these opinions heavily and the only reason I expressed my opinions about RedHat are because you asked me. I think it's great if people use Mandrake, or SuSe, or any other distro (besides Lindows). I obviously am in more of a position to help someone who has chosen RedHat so I may favor it in my recommendations.
[ October 02, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]