You will find that the iStuff is very different from most other things. Most things, when locked, do not let you meddle with them until unlocked. Want some fun? Try your iPhone headset with mic on the N900 (or any non-iPhone with a 4-pin jack). Apple decided to not follow the standard used by everyone else and swapped the mic and ground pins, just because. For most people, lock means lock. Not lock a few things... lock everything.

That said, this IS the N900 we're talking about. I'm sure there's a way of changing the locking mechanism to allow some keys through if you really want to. Search for threads on locking, and if nothing exists yet, ask in a new thread. You may have the next hot app idea... Not one I'd install, but apparently several people want it. That's the great part about open source, if you don't like something, you can change it!

Thanks, I think? Not sure how that pissing match inspired you, but... Bravo. Learning something new is always it's own reward. Worst case you'll learn a little more about how some of the insides of your N900 already work. If Debian is a bit too daunting, Ubuntu is also a good alternative to check out. MeeGo is going to be a little more that direction, though the differences in most places are minor. Ubuntu can be a little simpler to cut your teeth on at times though, since it tends to be the most automated of the bunch, at least as far as setup/startup is concerned. Good luck!