I've been wondering if we can add repo's from other devices..
(ARM Linux based)

Maybe things like the Pandora (we will need to port libpnd to use .PND files) and smartQ v5/7. There is a cortex based smartq (or similar to smartq).

The N900 IMO is limited by the maemo repo's... I have added qoles (for bootmenu).

Things like the iPh/od have many, many, many repo's which can be added to cydia to extend it even more....

Not other distro's - still Maemo - but some may be 'lesser known'.
This is for OS2006,7,8 - but there might/should be a similar list for Maemo5 maybe.

thanks for you help, great link.

will these apps work on n900? (i understand they are not designed for it)

I think I saw one repo in that list for Fremantle - also a number of them - if you click on the repo lists so you can see the distro folders does seem to have Fremantle versions.

I wouldn't try to install OS2008 apps on your N900 thinking it will work - it might even break something. I would, to be on the safe, side, treat anything as if it was from extras-devel.

I've found some useful stuff this way for my N810 but I'm also aware of the risks in doing so.

i ran into several maemo5 repos over internet. but it's small repos with specific apps or patched packages(not apps but libs and things of that kind)

its a shame there are not more repo's around. it seems to be the only let down for the n900, i want more choice.....

You can use Debian's ARMEL packages (at least for N8x0) however this highly discouraged (especially here and I can expect to be flamed for simply mentioning it).

IMO the main issue with their packages is that packages are named differently by different maintainers and thus you will have dependency conflicts (you can have a required package but under a different name and dpgk & apt-get simply isn't smart enough to deal with it).

The "powers that rule" have declared that devs should use the official repos or don't bother. (Of course no one seems to have a problem when Opera does it). Let me enlighten you, young N900 user to the world that was the 770+N8X0: http://www.gronmayer.com/it/

EDIT: silvermountain beat me to it.

A little Googling never hurt anyone: http://natisbad.org/N900/index.html => http://natisbad.org/debian-n900/
Slim pickings but perhaps more are to be found...

i am back again to annoy. sorry.

i have another question.
esay debian has many different programs because its a full blown debian distribution, i take it we cant install/use easy debian repo's directly on maemo app manager?

i take it that they need debian to run (which maemo is built on?), but could it not be done a little differently?
maybe something like osx's X11 window manager? insted of
having the entire easy debian running hidden away.

n900 is very new to me (come over from a jailbroken iphone).