As has been said before, most crashes are due to user error. You see this more in Windows because the system doesn't do a particularly good job of protecting the user layer (i.e. what apps they're running and typing in) from the internals of the system. This is where Linux excels.. but the thing is, with Linux, once you introduce any instability, you're going to have a hell of a time getting ANYTHING to run.
Windows runs with a million little glitches here there and everywhere and sometimes you lose a word document or an email... but usually nothing worse than an hours worth of work (if you're smart and save every now and then), but it keeps trucking along despite all the idiotic things users do to their machines.
Linux on the otherhand is rock-solid, runs for ages and ages without complaint, but if one thing is put in the wrong place, the wrong file updated/edited, or simply the wrong hardware drivers installed, you can have a completely thrashed system that you have to know a LOT about to fix. Linux does not put up with novice users. It doesn't even put up with moderately knowledgeable users most of the time.
Both problems can be mitigated by knowing how to use the platform. WinXP is about as stable as any Operating System I've ever used. I know the rules I have to play by to keep it happy. This usually involves firewalls, popup blockers, firefox, regular virus checks and defrags. Preventative maintenance keeps me running just fine. I love Linux on my servers... but I'll be damned if I will jump through the hoops it demands any time I want to install a new program, or upgrade the hardware in my desktop machine.
Oh, and BTW... I've lost more word processing documents in odd crashes under Linux (XWindows crashes) than I ever did on Windows or the old old MacOS combined.
