Thanks for the "to the point" answers.

All the stuff about the security I don't really know anything about so I am not going to comment and I don't need any specific OS for any specific software so that doesn't bother me either.

So basically, no-one has actually answered my questions about what is actually standing in the way of loading an OS onto the SD and booting, well I guess you have; the answer is "your on your own, good luck" lol

Would have been happy with this answer from the start!

I am going to try and load any distro (probably Ubuntu) on the microSD card and boot it as a stand alone OS, that said I am still going to go with easy debian, because I honestly think Qole is right and it is the way forward. It does make sense having both functionalities at the same time. I just have to give this a go now, "because I can" lol

I think there are a few threads about which would help out with some of the issues but I expect a long and painful process ahead, but I will update the wiki when I'm done with a shiny new step-by-step

Patience is not one of my virtues lol

EDIT: Sorry forgot to add, I do think some of the points raised about having a separate OS that you can brick and just wipe are valid to, would be quite handy for testing and may get more people involved.

What? No! I said nothing of the sort!

I said that I understand that desire, because I too have that (strong) urge to do something just to see if I can do it, but that particular result (booting another OS on my Maemo device) doesn't particularly interest me enough to chase it.

I also want to add that I'm looking forward to having the usual "boot from SD" that we've had on the other Maemo devices. It is nice to have a couple of alternative Maemo setups to boot into.

Well, that's what I read into it. I'm glad and more than happy to be wrong. I hope I didn't offend you.

Well... That didn't work...