I used to do evaluations of pprogramming language products professionally,
as a journalist. My experience with Squeak rates it a 3.5/5 in stability.

It will crash with good probability in a new-use situation, and be
extremely stable in an established use pattern. This is a standard state
of narrowly software, whose developers fix the bugs _they_ see
immediately, but do not really get much external input on stability.

There is a cheap way around this trap: Add to the README a notice saying :
If you have any difficulty in installing this software, if it crashes
during the first uses, or if your initial expectations are not met, please
note the details of what you did and email the following adress ...

Software usage is a Darwinian process: Crashes are unpleasant, so people
tend to unconsciously work around fatal bugs, or stop using the software.
And then, because the experience was unpleasant, they forget about the
problems they had. The day the software is *really* released, and people
who did not WANT to use it HAVE to use it, managers suddenly see 40% of
the new users reporting crashes and wonder why ...

Oh, and by the way, I have used Squeak about 10 times, working through
tutorials while reading the Magenta book, and had 4 crashes in that number
of sessions. What I dislike most is the crash while saving the state on
exit, where I lose my mods (twice) . I now save my work into a file by cut
and paste. The way it turns the Powerbook in my lap into a heater (neat
for winter). About what I expected as a new user - if I keep using it I am
sure it will "mysteriously" be totally stable later.

 This is not a rant or a complaint - most good software has gone throught
this phase, just think of linux - totally stable in the hands of a pro,
and able to make any newbie cry in frustration during his attempts at
installing system, particularly X windows.

Edmund

Squeak is what a mouse does when you rub its ball the wrong way :)