Erm... you're asking quite a lot of questions there! :-)

Apps: Whatever apps you think you need basically. They're almost all free so just experiment and see what you like. You can most easily install them by going to maemo.org/downloads on your tablet's browser, then clicking on the categories to browse the apps. Note that each category may have more than one page, you can navigate them with the page numbers at the bottom.

Config Files: I'm not an expert on that, you'll have to get info from someone else.

Notepad type app: Try Xournal and Maemopad, they're both in maemo.org/downloads.

Customising home display: There are many approaches to this, for example you could customise the applications menu so that it has your favourite apps at the top. I did a tutorial about customising the desktop here:

http://tabletschool.blogspot.com/200...customise.html

Alternatively, you could install the Personal Menu application which lets you add dozens of direct links to your favourite apps and functions. Personal Menu is in maemo.org/downloads.

Text editor: There's a built-in text editor called Notes which is in the Applications menu under Utilities. You can also use Google Documents on the tablets.