[mapgrep]

There was a period, including the time Ubuntu launched and got popular, that Debian was infamously slow to update stable. Along came Ubuntu with a clockwork-like release cycle (every six months IIRC) and up-to-date packages, even in LTS. (In fact the Ubuntu elevator pitch, as far as I was concerned ~10 years ago, was "Debian packaging but with regular releases.")

It sounds like (?) Debian has tried to put those days behind it. But sysadmins of a certain vintage will always remember when Debian allowed itself to languish. Ubuntu, meanwhile, has maintained a very good track record with regard to timely updates and keeping LTS packages patched, etc.

[mwcampbell]

Debian's release cycle still isn't as predictable as Ubuntu; in fact, Debian slipped a bit with wheezy. Whereas lenny and squeeze came out in February of 2009 and 2011 respectively, wheezy didn't come out until May of 2013. I appreciate that Debian took the time to get it right; still, Ubuntu's greater predictability is appealing. Also, Ubuntu offers official backports of newer kernels to LTS releases; that's why Docker, for example, can target Ubuntu Precise.