Hello everyone:

I am a retiree who recently purchased an N800 for its gps capability (I travel often) and because it offers more than a regular gps gaget.

Now my problem is this: There is soooooo much information on every forum i've visited and sooooo many acronyms and new-fangled programming languages that I am throughly confused as to where to start to update my N800 with the software that interests me. I tried to download gnumeric as a start and have never gotten it to work. Most of the info I've found assumes that the reader is already knowledgeable and therefore is no use to me.

Could one of you kind souls explain to me (step by step) the best way to pursue enhancing my n800 with software for my use? I have visited the nokia site, the discover tlabeteer site, the maemo site, the python site and many others and just can't get a handle on what I need to do and when.

I am sure others like me are lurking out there and need help too. Thanks!

To quote a recent figure...I feel your pain. You should probably begin by deciding what applications you want. Some applications, like web browsing, can be accomplished with relative ease (since it is already built in). Others, like syncing a variety of data with a pc, require jumping into something you might prefer to avoid.

If you will specify what functions you'd like to address, there are plenty on this forum that can tell you the knowledge level required to accomplish them. You can then decide if you want to take the leap.

As a minimum--at least in my opinion--you need a rudimentary knowledge of Linux to accomplish very much beyond programs that install themselves.
Tom

I've been considering doing something like this for a while. As a long-time Linux user who's probably got the bash prompt burned into my retinas, I can understand fully why some aspects of the tablet can be intimidating or difficult to accomplish for people who are new to the tablets or Linux in general.

Might have something this weekend.

I think there should be a different (separate) sub-forum under Nokia N800 title that is directed for "newbies" that just want to know simple How To's without having to touch any Linux aspect whatsoever.

I mean, really, for someone who comes into this forum looking for some simple answers on "regular" operations on the device, he might mistakenly think that he is in a wrong forum. This forum looks more like a Linux forum than a Nokia N800 Support forum..

And if one decides to go a step further, they can go ahead to this more "intimidating" forum.

Just an idea..

Can you narrow it down a bit? I understand that there's SO MUCH information out there, that it's hard to determine what's pertinent and what's not.

What are you interested in? Multimedia? Word processing? E-books? Give us a subject/topic to springboard off of, and we can help you go from there.

I could not agree more with the initial post. The n800 is too hard to use for someone who does not have the time to do more than click install. I would suggest that you get a windows mobile device with built-in gps instead of the n800 (unless you already bought it).

I use my n800 to browse from the throne, but that is about all I can ever make it do.

That's crap (no pun intended). This device can do WAY more that just be used on the john. Why let it go to waste like that?

Post here, let us know what you want to make it do, or what you would like to know if it CAN do, and we'll help you out. This forum's actually a pretty damned good place to go as far as free-help-with-a-decent-turnaround.

Like I told the OP, I agree that out of the box, the machine's a little stunted, and it's not REALLY ready for joe-user who doesn't want to "play" with it and just wants it to "work". But the beauty of the device is its extensibility. It, in the end, can do more than a WM device can, but only after you hack at it a bit.

Tell us what you want. We'll help you hack at it. =)

Thanks to all of you for replying:

Someone asked me to be more specific as to what I want to do with the device. Immediately, I'd like a spreadsheet, word processor, and to know what the prerequisites are for those.

I have a background in programming (an old mainframer; since retired) and don't mind learning something new.

So what do I do first? Learn Linux /Python/neither/something else?
Where do I find out what to do to install gnumeric? Where do I find the libglade2 library (and others) that are missing?

I guess my wish is more documentation for the newbie with pointers as to where the information is located that we need. I'm sure some minimal info on "baby steps to take" is needed but I'm looking for direction for the most part so I can learn.......not the "baby steps"

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. =)
Spreadsheet can be found here.
Word Processing/DOC viewing: antiword, doc Reader (which works in conjunction with antiword)
A basic understanding of Linux would be good, seeing as how this is a debian-based distro. Python, from what I hear, is a good language to learn to work with the N800, but I can't speak from personal experience.
Gnumeric is linked above, and the libglade package needs to have the following repository installed:
Web address: http://repository.maemo.org
Distribution: bora
Components: free non-free

To set up a repository, go to the Application Manager, click the drop down, and set it up from there.
This is the best place I've found to get information on what you're looking for. For instance, if you were getting the libglade errors or something similar, I'd recommend coming here and searching on "libglade". It's a common issue, and easily resolved. If I was too general with anything (I do that sometimes), please let me know and I'll elaborate.

A lot of the software ported by people in the community is poorly maintained and implemented. There are a few things you need to do to get a program integrated into the tablet and a lot of porters don't do them. Unless the program is properly ported it doesn't stand much chance of making it into the official repositories, so people just host them on their website.

Probably the most useful thing you can do as a newbie if some program doesn't work is to write an email to the author or porter explaining the problem. They frequently will appreciate the feedback and fix the problem.