Oh, I see. That's okay.

There was a similar thread here that I read, where the specialists said that what they have is the "official" firmware (i.e. software for flashing). Most members here find it odd, because we are all practically using the official firmware which is from Nokia itself.

Though we were not able to resolve your issue on our end, it is good to know that you gained more knowledge about the N900's Operating System.

I would be biased if I would answer your question on Maemo versus iOS, because I never owned an Apple product. I was able to use one from my work colleagues, though. I found the response and graphics to be smooth, but...here are my reasons why I stay with Maemo (and Meego/Harmattan - for the Nokia N9):

1. I like to have that sense/feeling of "exclusivity". It's a selfish/vain reason. I like to be the owner of a "rare item".
2. I like to tinker around. Indeed, there are some other devices with more "stable" Operating Systems but that takes me away from having to tinker/hack and learn more. Tinkering around, making mistakes, and learning from them are the fun part because I get to learn more. Of course it would mean that one would have to invest time in all of this, though.

EDIT: Indeed, other Operating Systems have more apps, no doubt about it. But sometimes, quantity does not always equate to quality. Android OS, as an example, has tons of apps (about 400,000+ as of January 2012 and growing). Good thing the Nokia N900 has the ability to boot Android so I got to try it. There are really a lot of apps there, but to me they just seemed overwhelmingly redundant.

This is just me and my opinions based on short experiences with other mobile Operating Systems and may not present the opinions of others.