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User FAQ

Revision as of 13:51, 6 December 2010

THIS PAGE IS CONTINUALLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT. NEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!

For development topics, please see the Developer frequently asked questions.

Principles of frequently asked questions

• No more than 2 page lengths per, well, page. (Okay, the front page breaks this rule in this structure. Sorry!)
• No more than 3 clicks from this page to get an answer
• Use links to maemo.org content where possible (including talk.maemo.org)
  • Especially if the answer is more than a couple of sentences (one paragraph max) - in this case, make a wiki.maemo.org page if necessary and point to it.
• Continually update (needs a FAQ editor)

Open to suggestions...

Tips for finding answers

Please note, you can also use the search facilities:

• talk.maemo.org search
• maemo.org google custom search

Note that there is a separate FAQ for those interested in Development.

New to Maemo? There's a New Users page, Maemo basics article and a Greeters organization.

I can't read through this! I'm in big trouble... Need big help...

Are you sure? You might want to check below in the User:Smarsh/Ideas/FAQIdea#Troubleshooting_and_Optimization Troubleshooting section.

But... If all else fails, and you just can't see a way out, updating the firmware is the last straw. It deletes all user data and reverts all settings to default.

Hardware

Note: device links will direct you to specific hardware pages

N900

The N900 is a pocketable computer with plenty of power (speed and memory) for running many demanding applications. Take a look at N900 Accessories if you are in a need of screen protector, carrying case or similar.

(Older) Internet Tablets

• Nokia N810 WiMax Edition
• Nokia N810
• Nokia N800
• Nokia 770 Internet tablet

Battery

Do I have to charge it fully before first use?

No. It will comes with about 50% of the full battery charge so you can tinker around and set your initial preferences out of the box.

Do I have to discharge it fully each time?

No, the N900 has a Li-Ion (Lithium-Ion) battery, which doesn't need this. Older NiCad (Nickel-Cadmium) batteries did.

Can I use the device while it’s charging?

Yes. Your files stored in 'MyDocs' (also known as the folder 'Nokia N900') will not be available in 'Mass Storage mode' or 'PC Suite mode' when connected to the computer. Clicking outside the prompt when connecting to a computer leaves it in 'Charging mode' and leaves your files accessible from the device.

Is it safe to leave it charging overnight? Will it stop charging itself when it’s full?

Yes. By default, the notification light (when the screen is off) glows Yellow to indicate 'Charging', and is a steady green to indicate 'Battery Full'.

How can I extend my battery life?

To ensure that your batteries last longer, check out extending battery lifetime. For tips on making a single battery charge last longer, read how to make your battery last longer.

Software and Usage

Operating System

The Nokia devices run on the Maemo Operating System, but there are alternatives (see alternatives below).

Maemo

The N900 runs Maemo 5 out of the box. See the Maemo 5 Introductory pages for details, movies, and advice. Fremantle is the codename of Maemo 5, which is the current version of Maemo.

Maemo 4, also known as OS2008, was the operating system used on the Nokia N800, N810, and N810 WiMAX Edition. The original, version 4.0, release was codenamed "Chinook". A later, version 4.1, upgrade was codenamed "Diablo".

Maemo 5 Revision History

Maemo 5 has gone through five updates as of December 2010.

See the individual change-logs for more information.

1. 1.2009.42-11, the N900's original (for production units) firmware.
2. 1.2009.44-1, aka PR1.0.1, was a preparatory release for PR1.1. It was only released Over-The-Air (meaning the flasher was not updated) to devices with the original firmware.
3. 2.2009.51-1, aka PR1.1, was the first major firmware revision for Maemo 5.
4. 3.2010.02-8, aka PR1.1.1, is the preparatory release for PR1.2.
5. 10.2010.19-1, aka PR1.2 was released in May 2010
6. 20.2010.36-2, aka PR1.3 was released in October 2010 and is the current version of Maemo 5

Will Maemo 5 run on the Previous Internet Tablets?

Not officially but perhaps through the Mer community project. Maemo 5 is optimized for the OMAP3 architecture, the N810 and N800 are based in OMAP2 and the 770 on OMAP1.

Earlier tablets ran earlier versions of Maemo. See the release history for more details.

What are the 'Alternatives' to Maemo

• Mer
• Easy Debian
• See also the talk.maemo.org Alternatives forum

How can I reset my device to factory settings?

The device must be reflashed, by updating the firmware.

General Usage

How do I lock and unlock the touchscreen?

A nice overview of locking and unlocking is available on this MaemoUI Team video.

Are there shortcuts for the keyboard and gestures?

Yes. See the full list of N900 shortcuts and gestures.

Can I do email?

Yes, the N900 has an integrated e-mail client (Modest). See N900 Email Options for more help.

Can I send SMS to more than one person at once?

Yes. See how to send an SMS to multiple contacts.

What can I do with GPS?

Ovi Maps comes preinstalled to the N900 and there are ways to go Geocaching with Maemo devices too.

How can I sync personal data?

The Sync article will tell you more.

Which music files can be played in Maemo?

mp3, m4a (without copy protection), OGG, aac, eaac and wav.

Can I install and use new themes?

Yes, look at Themes article.

How can I find files from my home directory with terminal?

The MyDocs folder article describes the locations.

How do I take a screenshot?

1. Open the keyboard.
2. Make sure the screen you wish to capture is the screen showing.
3. Press Ctrl + Shift + P
4. Open the Photos Application.
5. The screen shot is the last picture taken.

How do I get to the task switcher using the the keyboard?

Press Ctrl + backspace.

How do I add recurring appointments to the calendar?

See the repeating entries in Calendar article.

How do I use the Video Camera?

See the article on basic use of the Video camera.

TV Out

Make sure that you check Settings/TV Out and change the video format to PAL or NTSC for your local TV system, prior to connecting it to the TV.

Why doesn't X forwarding over ssh work?

See the article on X forwarding over ssh. The short answer is that you need to install the PC Connectivity package.

Games

Go to the Games page to find more about gaming with the N900.

Customization

Go to the Customizing Maemo page to find more about customization in the N900.

Other Applications

Where do I get Software (apps) from?

Open application manager and start searching for useful software. You can learn more about downloading applications and installing applications.

You can browse Extras and Ovi applications online with Maemo Select

Apps fall into one of several categories.

• Extras - stable and tested applications suitable for anyone to install
• Extras-testing - possibly unstable apps, which are undergoing a quality assurance process before being moved to extras. Generally should be installed by the more experienced user as they can cause issues with your N900.
• Extras-devel - beta or even alpha level software. Should only be installed by very experienced or suicidal users, who know what to do if software breaks their device

Can I edit Office files?

N900 comes with dataviz's Office 'Office to Go' reader, so you can read office files. It is only a 30-day trial, and must be purchased after the promotional period.

Editing them is a slightly more interesting prospect, but has become a much more exciting one with KOffice.

Easy Debian, which also provides a LXDE desktop environment, has OpenOffice.org Writer (Word Processor), Impress (Presentation Editor), and Calc (Spreadsheet Editor) installed. It is available for Maemo 5, as well as OS2008.

Gnuplot is also avaliable as a native application for charts/graphs/spreasheets.

Does the N900 view pdf files?

There's a built in application for that.

Does Maemo 5 have a book reader? Will it run Kindle?

FBReader is available. Although it cannot read DRM-encrypted ebooks (like Kindle), it can read nearly any un-encrypted ebook format.

Community

What is the difference between Maemo and maemo.org?

Maemo refers to the Open source software platform for mobile devices developed by Nokia in collaboration with the Maemo community and some of the best open source upstream projects. maemo.org is the home of the Maemo community, and is a gathering place for people interested in this platform and related software and devices (more).

Where should I report problems?

Software problems are reported as bugs - please be gentle with the Bugsquad team. Contact Nokia Support for serious problems with your device during the warranty period.

In case of doubt use the Talk forum. Being blunt when reporting bugs on talk.maemo.org is highly discouraged (for example: Internet won't open. What do I do?). Describe the problem as detailed as you can without being overly elaborate.

See Maemo Talk Do's and Don'ts (page under construction) for more information.

What is the Community Council?

The Community Council is a team of volunteers representing the community and interfacing with Nokia.

How can I help with software development

Read instructions from the Help testing software article. Please read the disclaimer first.

Troubleshooting and Optimization

Note: all short answers to tables!

The most important part: read the article General precautions to stay out of trouble. Hope you read this before all hope is gone!

Troubleshooting

Optimization

How can I monitor my disk usage and how much space I have left?

Via the ‘memory’ applet in the Settings application. Or in the terminal do:

df -h

for all in fstab or do

du -hs <dir>

for a specific folder.

The applications 'Disk Usage' and 'Storage Usage' also provide different methods of measuring usage.

How often do I need to update? And why?

N900 is 'updatable software', so it will go on getting better. Your device will check for updates once a day, and tell you when it needs to update by putting a little yellow icon on the screen. Then it will walk you through the update process. You can wait to update when you are somewhere where it's better to download - for example your using your home network rather than your data plan.

Future

Can I Plug in USB devices to my N900?

Not yet. See the article on N900 Hardware USB Host for some more details on efforts to make this work. The current status is that it works, but a user friendly solution is some way off.

What is MeeGo / Maemo 6 / Harmattan?

Maemo 6 is the next incarnation of the Maemo operating system. Originally, it was simply to be completely open-sourced, and the official transition from GTK+ to Qt (GUI styles).

But with the announcement of the Intel Moblin and Nokia Maemo merge to form MeeGo, Harmattan is now the "stepping stone" for the merge.

Will Harmattan work on my N900?

The "official" answer from Nokia as of 2010 is "We don't Know."