The N8x0s were released with Maemo OS. Each major release has a code name; therefore, we have Mistral, Chinook, Diablo .... The Maemo itself is a subset of Linux. We have Maemo 1 to 5 for now. Maemo 5 is the next one.

Your device should have the latest Maemo 4, Diablo.

People in this forum have been porting various Linux flavors, or even Google OS. So those OSes are now offered in the "Alternatives" if you want to try them out.

Near full desktop? Firstly we don't have a mouse; secondly the CPU is not faster than of a PC or notebook!

So unless you try it I can not tell you one way or the other!

For me, Diablo is good enough!