N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

Hello.
I've been a N900 owner for more than a month now and I must say that I'm very very happy with it. I came from Nokia S60 devices which I've used since my Ngage in 2005 and, so far, NONE of them was as stable or as much of a pleasure to use as my new love!
So, I'm a real wannabe-geek looking for an outlet. I have a tiny bit of experience with Ubuntu but mostly my computers have run either Microsoft or Mac, both of which I despise for their closed-ness and fascist, controlling ways. I still feel I have a long way to go before I qualify to full-fledged Geekdom but I'm working hard at it :-)
I've been following the Maemo/Meego story as closely as I can but I must say that I'm a little confused. I have a few questions for anyone in the know to answer for me. they are:
1) What is to become of Maemo. Looking at these forums there seem to be very many people in the Maemo community. If Maemo is to die out then what will become of all the community members? What will become of Maemo? Will it still get any support and updates in, say, a years time?
2) Meego. Will we be able to install it on our N900's, and if so is it going to be as much of a pleasure to use as I'm finding Maemo to be now?
3) Will there be any other OS that we'll be able to run with such fluidity on our N900's? I've not been attracted to Android but will running that be possible?
4) Where will we be in a years' time? I have this devise now and I can't, at this point, see myself upgrading in the near future. In one years time am I still going to be running an outdated Maemo Pr 1.2?
Is there anyone that can hazard an educated guess as to these questions? I'd love to know what people think. From what I can tell, no-one seems to know for definite.

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

The N900 is still a supported Nokia product. Many apps are already available and many are still coming.
Compatibility with Qt means that apps for future Nokia devices will be able to be ported to the N900 with minimal effort.

You can already install it, but is not consumer-ready yet at all. When it will be ready, they aim it to be at least as much pleasure to use.

One thing to note: the plain downloadable MeeGo is not the same as the one that is coming with the next Nokia device. (Plenty of threads about this, read them if you're interested.)

Check out the NITdroid project if you're interested in Android.

Well, there is at least one more update coming to Maemo, plus the community (MohammadAG is the most notable) is already working on a bunch of updates.

Noone knows anything for sure, and the people at Nokia don't wanna risk their jobs by disclosing such information.

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

:D is everyone busy compiling their scathing response or shaking their heads?

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

1. maemo5 will stop being developed as soon as N9 comes out, based on the previous Maemos.
2. You can install MeeGo now. It doesn't look too good right now, but it could be very good.
3. You can install android now, works really good, no phone yet.
4. don't know.

The release of the N9 will change things overnight, still Maemo but a new UX. But i also think the N8 and E7 will distract a few. The N900 is a year old, and many people would like a new device, many already have a new, Android typically.

I will most probably get a E7 when it is released, unless the N9 has materialized by that time.

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

Hello. :)

Welcome To Maemo.

Here are the answers that I would give to your questions:

1) Well Nokia's Maemo has merged with Intel's Moblin to become Meego. The only device (officially) running Maemo 5 will be your N900. There have been older version of Maemo for other devices. Nokia has stated that they will continue supporting Maemo after launching MeeGo, but we will have to wait and see if Nokia keeps the promise they made. Maemo, will continue to live, with the help of developers and other people in the community, who are trying their hardest to make the Maemo experience as pleasant as possible.

2) Meego for the N900 will not come officially from Nokia. There is a team currently working to port Meego to the N900, but this is not official and does not come from Nokia. See here for more information about Meego for the N900.

3) There are many different OS's which can be run on the N900. Maemo is the only official OS from Nokia. Other OS's include Nitdroid (Android for N900), Meego, Ubuntu etc. However, these are not officially supported by Nokia; instead these OS's are managed by their respective community (e.g. Nitdroid Community for Android). The OS's are being ported, but they are all mostly still in development stages. For instance, Nitdroid can be installed, but features such as the camera are still in development, so it is not recommended to replace Maemo yet.

4) PR 1.3 seems to be coming soon, but once again we have to wait and see. Regarding the future, I believe it is best to wait and see what happens. As I said above, Nokia has promised support, but whether they will keep the promise is unknown. Even if Nokia stopped supporting Maemo, then I believe that this Maemo community will provide solutions etc, because there are many clever people here. ;)

It is best not to worry too much about the future, just enjoy what you have now and we will se what will happen in the future. :)

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

Thanks to everyone for the very satisfactory answers. so far you've confirmed my hopes and fears.
@gryedouge I'm sorry if this type of question infuriates you. I posted it in the hope that these things can be discussed in a single thread. The info I'm after is not really available in a single place. Sure, if you read a lot of the posts you'll find answers to a lot of my questions but I just find that I don't always have the time to be reading absolutely everything, as much as I would love to.

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

I don't think you have infuriated him/her, it's just a weird sense of humour we have here at TMO :D

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

1) maemo by nokia is almost dead
one last update to go
community on the other hand would be a different story

2) meego is releasing in the last week of this month
its not a consumer product not will it be officially supported..
if u can find a class 6 *most preferred* mmc, u can get meego
but i highly doubt it would be there for n900..

what u see being developed is a development version
it will surely have all the drivers which will speed up the process, but i highly doubt we'll get it.. we'll have to wait for the first meego device.. then probably back port it from there..
even if not, it wont have many apps in the beginning..
jus suppose its the 5800 *first touch mobile* in its first few weeks of release*

3) nitdroid.com

4) n900 is still one of a kind, i doubt they'll make another device like it..
with fm transmitter/ir port and other goodies, ability to overclock and removing the rootfs limit, n900 would last for atleast 1-2 more years..
but only on community's support..
dont count on nokia..

Re: N900 + Maemo, Meego, Android,...or WHAT???
 

Hmm. I've had really a lot of Nokia devices...but I stopped counting on Nokia some time back