I also have been running Unix off and on since I installed SCO from floppies in the early 1990's.
I've been running my N810 since just before Thanksgiving.
I've yet to have it lock up and lose anything except what I've just been working on (a note, a spreadsheet, etc.) and all my lockups were due to "pushing the envelope" slightly.
About the only times I don't use it is when I'm asleep or in an area that does not allow such things.
Since I lost my USB cable I did not flash it until recently, and that was with one of PenguinBait's deb's.

Seems like you have bad luck or hardware.