Sorry for the noob question, but can anyone tell me how the extras-devel and garage work? What is the difference between the two? And then how does that relate to the downloads page on this site?

Thanks!

Garage = the repository that holds the code and assets needed to compile and run your program properly. Does version control and much more.

Extras = The place where your completed package for Maemo sits, waiting for end users to download it.

Extras-devel = Same as extras but for untested, unfinished packages.

Extras-testing = Same as extras-devel except the package is ready for testing but still not for end users.

So the applications on the downloads page is fully tested and ready for end users I presume? Also, what are the links for each of those sites?

The ones on the downloads page are packages that have completed testing and have been promoted up into Extras. Yes, they are safe for end users.

Probably everything you need to know about Extras, Extras-testing and Extras-devel: http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras

About Garage, it is true that is not well documented at least to find out what it does and how it relates to the rest of maemo.org. See http://wiki.maemo.org/Task:Using_garage.maemo.org - I have added this task back to the proposals for maemo.org sprints.