your experiences aren't mine. i have a dual 1Ghz G4 quicksilver (2002 model) and a 12" G4 powerbook. on the dual G4 i've had two kernel panics in the past year and i've haven't had one on the powerbook yet. i've never had a start-up problem. before my 12" powerbook i had a 600mhz icebook and it was rock-solid too. i would look a other causes than OS X - do you have enough RAM? do you have good RAM?
Apple and The Blue Screen of Death, the Truth