hey, im a noob with Maemo...discovered it only thanks to the N900...so forgive me.. but i know its based on Linux...so i wanted to ask.. theoretically is it possible that any game that came out for Linux could be ported or played on the N900? Within reason of the minimum system req. of course...

Namely im interested in wheter these games (which were ported to Linux) could be played on the N900:

Homeworld (SDL)
Quake III
Nexuiz
Vega Strike
Heretic II
Sim City 3000
X2: The Threat
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Thanks for the answers !

As long as they are open source (or a commercial company is willing to port to it) and will work with OpenGL ES, it should. I don't know much about OpenGL ES though... so as much as I would love to see SimCity 3000 running on it, it most likely won't happen.

Remember, it's not just that they were ported to Linux... they have to have also been ported to ARM Linux, not X86 Linux.

This "garage isn't for regular users" is an example of the arrogant attitude I object to. Actually, I have found many interesting betas in garage that never make it to a regular status. I don't mind a few crashes if the program is fun or interesting. The terms "regular user" and "drooling idiot" are not synonyms.

And who gets to decide what's a users acceptable "don't mind" level ? Tomorrow you'll have someone here complaining that a package from garage messed up his install so bad he needed to reflash and lost his most precious data. Then what ? Maemo sucks ? The developer sucks ? Garage stuff IS for developers. It doesn't mean non-developers should not ever enter, but there is not a big enough font for the "caveat emptor" sign that should be there.

PS. And if you think a software in garage IS good enough for general use (e.g. ready for extras-promotion), let the developers know. They might be perfectionist by holding back a release, but they will certainly appreciate the feedback.

There's no arrogant attitude around garage at all, so please.

That's good to know. Specifically, does anybody know if Password Safe works with Fremantle? I have tons of passwords in it and would hate to retype/convert them.

How about Truecrypt (with or without EasyCrypt)? It would require new kernel modules at the minimum. But FUSE is on Fremantle, right? Truecrypt 5 uses FUSE instead of kernel modules.

Password Safe is actually in Maemo 5 extras-testing, well positioned to be available in Extras already in Day 0.

There is a reason they don't let you in by the cars at (chain) auto repair places [garages].

If you don't know what you're doing, you could knock a car off the lift and onto your head.

I think the name is very appropriate.

Sorry if I ruffled a few feathers, but this is my view, the view of an outsider with an advanced technical background, extensive Symbian experience, and new to the Linux and Maemo ecosystems. That will be the demographic of a majority of the new blood in this space, so my opinion should be of interest in this light. It is my wish to further the accessibility and user friendliness of the Maemo environment, both software and community wise, not criticize anyone.

Maemo is on a much larger stage now, and this is an advantage of everyone here. So ignore how my thoughts make you feel personally, and instead give worthy explanations for why things are and at the same time develop ways to intertwine the best of the old world with an idea towards improving the entire experience for accessibility for a first time computer user.

Maemo is poised to be that introduction to computing and web, and this is a wonderous vision to imagine. An N900 will be someone's FIRST COMPUTER EVER!! Can you imagine this? I'm excited for the implications of Maemo on our society going forward.

I've already learned that the Garage is NOT the app market some incorrect sources have implied to me in the past. As some have correctly pointed out, it is an INCUBATOR of sorts, where only developers and those interested in testing beta software at their own peril or joy can browse for solutions to interest them, or participate in the development of. That is totally cool, IMO.

I've also learned that apps expected to work on device considered finished software is available via the App Manager, a Maemo version of the Ovi Store, for lack of a better analogy.

What I'd like to know is how can I browse this software list online from a desktop or mobile browser? Is it possible? Or am I forced to buy a device to browse for available software? Is the Downloads page this list, or are there other places I can find Maemo 5 software?

These are questions MILLIONS of people will want to know in the coming months. I'm just asking ahead of time so I can let those interested in Maemo in my own community know themselves, so when they arrive here, they can immediately spend time getting involved in this community, instead of asking these obviously silly questions.

Excuse me for asking everything and giving an opinion, but its who I am, and can be an asset if you look at it. You'll appreciate it when all the Symbian Freaks get here. There are ALOT of US you'll be "inheriting", and we love mobiles.

App Manager isn't really a store-like thing as such, it is a *user-friendly* GUI for the apt-get package manager. It lets you choose a package to install, figures out what dependencies that package has, and assuming they exist in the repositories you have enabled, installs (or un-installs) it all for you. The same thing can be done on the command line using apt-get.

The store is something new, and is an unfamiliar concept to us regular Linux users.