I hate to disappoint you, but if you have an N900, you ARE a linux user.

(also if you have a Tivo, many music players, several phones, etc. etc.)

If you want to put Linux on your netbook, Ubuntu has an excellent netbook version. They will even detect your current XP, repartition the disk and allow you to dual boot into Ubuntu or XP. I put it on my Asus EEE and it works very, very well.

http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook