N900 - New Users Hints & Tips

[buxz777]

took the plunge and grabbed me a n900 should be arriving friday if they keep to their word , iam quite excited but also a little daunted about linux on a phone

so what are the biggys i should know about??

any things to do when i 1st get the device??

any cool shortcuts or general user tips??

iam sure that its not just me that will be asking these questions so maybe make this thread into a sticky and keep all the hints and tips in one place for all new n900 users

ive heard alot of you guys saying how awesome the n900 is but i havent heard many reasons why so why not share some tips with other users

anything you think will be usefull should be added as this is intended for complete n900 novices like me who may be a little lost when switching on the device

please try to keep all posts as just tips and please keep discussion about the n900 to other threads otherwise it could get messy :-)

let the tips begin :-)

[SC00BY]

I would suggest that any new N900 owner / user checkout
maemo.org - maemo.org: Home of the Maemo community
specifically the "downloads" tab.

I would also reccomend making sure that all new users read
A Guide to Maemo Extras for More Nokia N900 Applications

The extra's catalogue should already be in your application manager downloads, and may/may not need 'enabling' ?

All users should read and take heed of the warnings regarding the EXTRAS-TESTING and EXTRAS-DEVEL,
as downloading from these catalogues can seriously spoil your day
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !

That should get new users off and running with regard downloading some free stuff and get them off to a good start using their N900

[euanandrews]

In terms of the N900 an Maemo 5, we are all novices...some of us may have a couple weeks or months head start on you but that's all, no one is an expert yet.

OK, tips...

Where to find Maemo 5 apps:
- Ovi Store, either via web or N900 app (currently not working wihout hacks)
- App Manager (program on the N900)
- Maemo Select
- Maemo.org
- Maemo Garage
- Manually via 3rd party websites

Highly recommended apps:
- Hermes (dev)
- Converstations Inbox Desktop Widget
- ForecaWeather widget
- Qik
- FM radio (dev)
- eCoach
- Twitter plugin (dev)
- Extra protocol plugins for Maemo 5 (dev)
- Pixelpipe Upload and Share
- Irreco Ir Remote Control (dev)
- Extra Decoders Support

Dev = In development, available for use and testing but with possible risks an side effects

How to enable/find more apps in the Maemo App Manager:

By default the N900 comes supplied with only 2 Nokia repositories enabled, and the 'Maemo Extras' one disabled.

To enable 'Maemo Extras' All you have to do is go into App Manager and select the top menu bar, select Application Catalogues, select the Maemo Extras and untick the box marked Disabled. Refresh the catalogues and you’ll see loads of applications now, all the ones available via maemo.org.

If you’re brave enough you can also enable the 'Maemo Extras-Devel' repository, the is applications in development and are put her for you to test. Think of it as being an alpha tester.

To add the Maemo Extras-devel repository just goto App Manager, select the tope menu bar, select Application Catalogues and NEW.

Add the repository http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel using the same info as below, hit save and then refresh the catalogue



Word of WARNING...apps found in the Devel repository are still unrefined and may break your device, or have side effects such as excessive battery consumption or crashing your device.

Bugs or ommisions:
- Can not manually set up groups and add contacts
- Can not send group/multiple txt's
- Can not video call
- Can not MMS
- Default photo viewer app very limited, no double tap to zoom to full size, nor auto resize to fit full window in portrait mode
- Facebook widget exremly limited, just a rolling feed and links to main site
- Maemo Twitter apps very poor, limited in features and useability compared to Symbian Gravity
- Ovi Suite not compatiable, no Ovi services
- No syncing
- Playing video a hit and miss affair, will play some AVI files and not others, but downloading and installing some 3rd party codecs will help

[MohammadAG]

MMS is being worked on, it's working at the moment. It just needs a GUI. frals is working on it atm, you can find him on #Maemo on the IRC server irc.freenode.net

Found a shortcut to the desktop this week, hold the multitasking icon to get to the desktop.

Watch your free root (/) space, if you run out, the device will throw you into a recovery terminal (?) or you may have to reflash. Most apps on Extras and Extras-testing are optified (they install to the 2GB /opt partition). Most in extras-devel are NOT (they will eat up root space)
If you know how to use terminal you can download the deb package and install maemo-optify on your PC to optify an app, or you can just wait for it to be optified (MPlayer takes out 7MBs from /). Download DiskUsage to see disk space.

Download rootsh (even if you won't use it, it's useful if you fill your / directory)
I uninstalled tutorial-home-applet (the get started tutorial) since I didn't need it anymore, to do that open terminal, type root (after installing rootsh) and type:

dpkg -r tutorial-home-applet

I also find installing apps through terminal MUCH faster than using the App Manager.
To search for a packge type: apt-cache search <package/description/part of name>
To install it type: apt-get install <packagename>
You need to have rootsh installed to do this (and of course you have to type root in terminal to gain superuser caps.)

That's all I have for now

[tahirj89]

Great forum mate, keep those tips and tricks rolling...

[euanandrews]

Everything I have collected and collated on a thread at over at Geekzone.co.nz
Nokia N900 - Users Thread

Customization tips and hacks:
Powatool (app for customizing the N900)
Custom Operator Name Applet (app)
Add 'Reboot' function to power button
N900 MODS - Share your MODS (Maemo.org thread) including:
- Added 'reboot' function to power button
- Modified LED colours and vibrations
- Extended Keyboard Shortcuts
- Swap Fn and Shift keys
- Hackd FM ransmitter with RDS
How to personalize your N900 (Maemo.org Wiki) - not fully populated yet
N900 Hardware Hacking (Maemo.org Wiki) - not fully populated yet
Themes
Remapping your keyboard
Device boot video
Creating custom folders and rearranging main menu icons/apps
Red Pill Mode (disables deafult safety so one can install Deb files)
Red Pill Mode (more instructions, screenshots)
How to send SMS to multiple contacts at once
How to put shortcuts to folders on the desktop
How to enable root access in the X-Terminal

Shortcuts:
- Long pressing the Menu/multitasing shortcut/icon will bring you back to your desktop
- Double tap ctrl for upper case (to stay on without needing to hold down)
- Double tap function key for numeric locks (to stay on without needing to hold down)
- Shortcuts and gestures (Maemo.org Wiki)
- ctrl +shift +p = screenshots

Commands:
Maemo Linux Commands

[buxz777]

nice tips everyone keep them coming for all n900 users :-)

[buxz777]

The Comprehensive Beginners Guide To The N900 | Maemo Central

for all newbies this guide will get you started and aquited with the device nicely

[buxz777]

Updating the firmware - maemo.org wiki

guide on different methods to updating the firmware

[buxz777]

N900 Wallpapers & Backgrounds

lots of n900 wallpapers