Agreed, it is beyond me why the just can 't push out new sillicon for Maemo 5 while at the same time it is nicely maturing.

It took me till 2005 to realize that windows XP (that was also nothing more than the next iteration) ran smooth starting from 2GB RAM with my ussage behavior.
Nowadays people are still using it.

Why Maemo 5 has such a short life?

It is the software that counts in this case. I would pay for a license.
I would pay 100 euro extra to have any latest hwkb android device, plastic garbage or not, delivered with Maemo 5.

As for Nokia , a device , a software platform: The leaked 2010 jessie girl device shout have been brought to the masses to enjoy an even smoother Maemo.

that said, the screen of N900 is unbeaten. I love the capability to zoom with one hand honding the device and circular movement. An iPhone or N8 is higly frustrating in comparison and it is always a relief to return to N900.

Resistive supports multitouch, I dont know why its never implemented in the OS though.

HDMI is a nice idea and I'm never against better connectivity.

But in the context of a highly portable device, that can be used globally.
Composite wins hands down!
If you see a tv, you can plug into it. That simple reality eliminates my need for a notebook or tablet, in fact it beats their usefulness for my needs.

I've spent more than one rainy night in a hotel in Guatemala, Mexico etc. And enjoyed a movie using my trusty n900 and the typical available, cheap CRT TV.

Most resistive screens don't support multitouch - it's a hardware problem, not a software one. (Ignoring "fake" multitouch software solutions).

And maybe capactively-resistive screen? I've heard there's such a contraption