You can do pretty much anything You want to on this device...

I wouldn't say it's "butchered"... But most people wont be using pine, man, bc etc... Guess that's why they "stripped" the OS down a bit...

A lot of the software can be installed afterwards if You really want it... And if You can't find it, since Your a geek, why not compile and package it for the N900 Yourself?

(and yeah, why use space on man pages when You've got the internet in Your hand)