The 1st crash or so called (just normal crash not a k crash) was when I was running Premier with an incompatible (out of date) plug-in. The program froze at the startup pic, & the opt-com-esc window was hidden behind the startup pic so I was unable to click on it. Other than that, I had a faulty vid capture unit & it caused my comp to freeze after captures until I had it replaced under warranty. Before that I had thought it impossible for OSX to crash. But it certainly can. The only other kernal panic I had was with a tiger install .... um ... anyway. I was most surprised about the kernal attack. I do know FCP had an update released to fix that freezing issue just at the time I suffered the k attack & other freezing. I was more than glad to downld the bug fix!! I've not been spending enough time on the fcp forum of late to learn others findings.

me d windows is a lot less forgiving than mac. Due to the way OSX manages ram, it can close off any program that crashes (isolates the ram that the program used), etc. without affecting the system. The program can then be restarted.
Whereas windows, like mac os 9 & earlier become unstable after forcing a program to close.

However the point you make is a worthy issue to consider. I can't comment but it may also be an issue for mac OSX.