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Here I will note some things concerning diverse stuff around maemo on n900 that might come in handy later for me. Or maybe for you.

== root ==
to gain root superuser privileges, which you need e.g. for manual package installation etc, install [[Root_access#rootsh|rootsh]], in [[Terminal#Opening_the_terminal|xTerminal]] type:
 root

== partitions ==
the [[N900 filesystem]] is, to my liking, inconveniently set up.

as root:
 sfdisk -l
 cat /etc/fstab 
informs you that you have
<pre>
Device               Boot   Start     End      #cyls #blocks   Id  System
/dev/mmcblk0p1          1  884864  884864   28315648    c      W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/mmcblk0p2     884865  950400   65536    2097152   83      Linux
/dev/mmcblk0p3     950401  974976   24576     786432   82      Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/mmcblk0p4          0       -       0          0    0      Empty
</pre>

mounted as
<pre>
rootfs / rootfs defaults,errors=remount-ro,noatime 0 0
/dev/mmcblk0p1 /home/user/MyDocs vfat noauto,nodev,noexec,nosuid,noatime,nodiratime,utf8,uid=29999,shortname=mixed,dmask=000,fmask=0133,rodir 0 0
/dev/mmcblk0p2 /home ext3 rw,noatime,errors=continue,commit=1,data=writeback 0 0
/dev/mmcblk0p3 none swap sw 0 0
</pre>

vfat cannot handle file attributes like being executable, as set by 
 chmod +x
thus, you can only run binaries and scripts if they are in root (227mb; physically, they are on a 256MB OneNAND chip) or in /home (2gb) and not in /home/user/MyDocs (28gb)! (Physically, the latter plus the swap partition reside in a 32GB EMMC, which is capable of [http://mobipre.com/n900-partitions-management-rootfs/ about a third] the reading speed of the OneNAND.)

what to do about that? you could [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=35122&page=6 repartition] the whole device. or just [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=425224&postcount=20 format your microsd card] as ext2 or ext3. problem with the last option is that it will not be automounted. you could, [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=438325&postcount=25 of course], [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=438339&postcount=27 mount it manually], or modify the etc init scripts to do it upon every reboot. if you go for manual mount, you might also want to restart tracker (see below), as it would not scan the sdcard otherwise.

== optification ==
Several apps in maemo [[Extras-devel|extra devel]] repository will install to rootfs, where you have only 227mb. Nice apps (and system components) don't behave like that, they install to /home/opt and are called "optified" when [http://www.nokiausers.net/forum/nokia-n900/34039-optifying-applications-necessity-if-you-have-devel-enabled.html having] [http://wiki.maemo.org/User:Jebba/Package_Building_HOWTO#Optify_.deb learned] to behave well like that, or are just [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=565610 forced out] and merely symbolically linked to their original place.

== rootfs size problems ==
The filesystem rootfs, mounted in /, is a speciel partition of 227,8 mb containing some preinstalled programs, global configuration info and data. Some apps from "maemo [[Extras-devel|extra devel]]" will also install there. A notable example is Abiword, which, sadly being unoptified yet, [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=568907&postcount=32 currently] uses up 10mb on rootfs. You can check how much space is consumed totally by entering "df -h" in xTerminal (usually the first line of output). Even better, use storageuse, which shows a red circle and via "Scan Packages" function shows also which apps use what, where rootfs usage is in red. When you come close to 100%, a lot of mischief can happen, e.g., you may get "write error - write (28 no space left on device)" when trying to access extras devel in Program Manager.

How to free space? When you reflash, rootfs will be reset also (of course). But you would rather try the methods suggested in [[Free up rootfs space]], e.g., having [[Root_access#rootsh|rootsh]] installed, in xTerminal:

root
 apt-get clean
 apt-get autoclean

There is also a nice script by [[User:Tanner]] (see also [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=429142&postcount=6 another one], and a [http://sumoudou.org/%E7%9B%B8%E6%92%B2%E5%A4%96%EF%BC%9ARepartition%20the%20Nokia%20N900.html more radical] repartitioning method), which i have modified to include some more directories:

#!/bin/sh
 # N900 script to safely free space on rootfs
 # (c) 2010 by Thomas Tanner <tanner@maemory.com>, modified by Caze (http://wiki.maemo.org/User:Caze)
 # licensed under GPLv3
 # move root stuff to /home
 dirs="usr/share/icons usr/share/nokia-maps usr/share/pixmaps usr/share/hildon-welcome usr/share/themes usr/share/fonts usr/share/locale usr/lib/locale var/lib/apt"
 #optional: var/lib/dpkg
 if test -d /home/var/cache/apt; then
   # keep existing apt cache
   rm -rf /var/cache/apt
   ln -s /home/var/cache/apt /var/cache/apt
 else
   dirs="$dirs var/cache/apt"
 fi
 (cd / && du -sc $dirs)
 for d in $dirs; do
     test -L /$d && continue
     echo moving /$d
     rm -rf /home/$d
     mkdir -p /home/$d
     cp -a /$d /home/$d/..
     rm -rf /$d
     ln -s /home/$d /$d
 done

i suggest you copy this to in some texteditor on your pc, save it, copy it to n900 connected via usb (don't save on fat partition on sd card but on ext3 partition somewhere else), disconnect, having installed rootsh, start xTerminal on n900, cd to where you saved the script,
 
 root
 chmod +x thisscript.sh
 ./thisscript.sh

== install further apps ==
in older firmware, you could put the Application Manager in a mode that supports "Install from file", which is, for trivial reasons, called "[[Red_Pill_mode|Red Pill]]" mode. It is [http://my-maemo.com/faq/showquestion.php?faq=5&fldAuto=6 activated] by selecting "Application catalogues" from the drop-down menu, tapping "New", entering "matrix" as URL, tapping outside the focus window, selecting "Red".

this does no more than
 dpkg -i thusandso.deb

but might be a bit faster when you just have no xterm open. note it does not check package dependencies, as opposed to
 apt-get install thusandso

== remote desktop ==
ssh, telnet, vnc (multiple alternatives) and rdesktop (for w2k/nt) work (among others, i suppose). also, logmein [http://community.logmein.com/logmein/board/message?board.id=30&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=776#M776 should].

== java ==
n900 comes with ThumbEE, a proprietary java optimizer (general JIT, not JVM-specific), a successor of Jazelle which came with N770, N800 and N810. You can have Sun [[Java]] SE (for applets, not J2ME, which is what mobile phone games etc in .jar files use) from Easy Debian. for J2ME over J2SE, use [http://www.microemu.org/maemo/ MicroEmulator]. You could also apt-get netbeans from debian/lenny. See also [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=37405&page=5], [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=435335#post435335] and [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=37405&page=2].

== android ==
you should be able to install [https://sites.google.com/site/nitdroid/n900-port nitroid]. or wait for [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNo6pn-dnSQ vmware on n900]?

== (older) mac emulation ==
basilisk II [http://forums.internettablettalk.com/showthread.php?p=507862 should work].

== amiga emulation ==
is [http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=5298&page=7 work in progress].

== tracker ==
the media on your phone is automatically catalogued by a [http://projects.gnome.org/tracker/ tracker] daemon called trackerd. it is [http://linux.die.net/man/5/tracker.cfg  configured] by /home/user/.config/tracker/tracker.cfg . applications like the media player use the information tracker collects. you can change the paths that are searched by manually editing this cfg file, e.g. to include subfolders on your microsd card (mounted as /media/mmc1) or to exclude stuff you want to keep a bit more private. you could use e.g. vi or leafpad for the editing of this file or use tracker-cfg in extras-devel. to restart tracker:
 tracker-processes -r
 /usr/lib/tracker/trackerd &

== shortcuts ==
there are several [[N900_shortcuts_and_gestures]]. note also, in the form of context - action - result:
* anywhere - double press power button - lock
* anywhere - ctrl+backspace - task switcher 
* menu/multitasing shortcut/icon - long press - back to desktop
* text input - double tap ctrl - hold upper case
* text input - double tap function key - hold numerics input
* text input - ctrl+shift+p - screenshot
* text input - ctrl + x/c/c - cut/copy/paste
* anywhere - turn phone - open phone (must be activated in phone menu: turning control)

== sms ==
you can send sms to [[SMS_Multiple_Contacts|multiple]] contacts.

== simple customizations ==
if you like, there are plenty of ways in [[Customizing Maemo]], such as:
* ringtones:  settings / profiles / ringing tone
* desktop shortcut to folder: go to file:/// in browser, ctrl+d, add desktop shortcut
* rearrange stuff in menu etc: you can [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=442281&postcount=5 change] /etc/xdg/menus/hildon.menu
* [http://wiki.maemo.org/Remapping_keyboard remap keyboard]
* play with [[Themes]]
* [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=457128&postcount=3 add a] [http://my-maemo.com/faq/showquestion.php?faq=5&fldAuto=2 reboot button]

== update to PR 1.2 ==
first of all, you DID JUST BACKUP all your things on you n900, didn't you (using nokia content copier, e.g.)?! now, as was often the case, the nokia software update (nsu) will in lots of cases prove to be total crap. it will probably complain "Nokia Software Updater has attempted to connect to the internet but has failed three times. This could be because of a poor-quality, slow or intermittent internet connection, or restrictions due to a firewall." actually, it is because of the programmers' incompetence. so help yourself. check your imei under settings / device information or below you battery. go to http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N900.php and provide this number. then download a file like RX-51_2009SE_10.2010.19-1_PR_COMBINED_MR0_ARM.bin (this one is 187.721.717 bytes in size, but size differs for different localisations). while it downloads, find the place to then put it, probably C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A\nsl_service_module_00001\vpls\www.dsut.online.nokia.com.oti.caresuite\Products\rx-51\ . of course, the path will differ if you don't have an english version of windows or installed it anywhere else than on c: . now you can restart nsu and test your luck, or rather other corrupt routines of nsu. for example, experiment with the right sequence of starting nsu / connecting cable / processing nsu's dialogs. for me, after several retries, involving removing the battery etc, it worked after first having connected with all those n900 devices auto-recognized (usb modem etc), then removing usb cable, then putting it back, not (!) selecting "pc suite mode" but not selecting any of both options, just clicking "try again", after which it loaded a certain Nokia Service Layer A driver. you can realize that it actually does work when on your n900 there begins a green line on the bottom of the white NOKIA start screen, which will be finished after about 3min. oh, and you DID backup all your stuff, didn't you?!

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Editing User:Caze

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 == rootfs size problems ==
-The filesystem rootfs, mounted in /, is a speciel partition of 227,8 mb containing some preinstalled programs, global configuration info and data. Some apps from "maemo [[Extras-devel|extra devel]]" will also install there. A notable example is Abiword, which, sadly being unoptified yet, [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=568907&postcount=32 currently] uses up 10mb on rootfs. You can check how much space is consumed totally by entering "df -h" in xTerminal (usually the first line of output).
+The filesystem rootfs, mounted in /, is a speciel partition of 227,8 mb containing some preinstalled programs, global configuration info and data. Some apps from "maemo [[Extras-devel|extra devel]]" will also install there. A notable example is Abiword, which, sadly being unoptified yet, [http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=568907&postcount=32 currently] uses up 10mb on rootfs. You can check how much space is consumed totally by entering "df -h" in xTerminal (usually the first line of output). Even better, use storageuse, which shows a red circle and via "Scan Packages" function shows also which apps use what, where rootfs usage is in red. When you come close to 100%, a lot of mischief can happen, e.g., you may get "write error - write (28 no space left on device)" when trying to access extras devel in Program Manager.
-Even better, use storageuse, which shows a red circle and via "Scan Packages" function shows also which apps use what, where rootfs usage is in red. When you come close to 100%, a lot of [http://forums.internettablettalk.com/showthread.php?t=33362 mischief] can happen, e.g., you may get "write error - write (28 no space left on device)" when trying to access extras devel in Program Manager.
 How to free space? When you reflash, rootfs will be reset also (of course). But you would rather try the methods suggested in [[Free up rootfs space]], e.g., having [[Root_access#rootsh|rootsh]] installed, in xTerminal: