I hi have just ordered a couple of beaglboards for experimenting. I know that it can rub Ubuntu and many other flavors of linux. 
Does that mean it can run all the trivial software that run on Ubuntu? 
Will the python and ruby interpreters work just the way they work on PC ?
The Beagleboard can run both of them, but you may have to compile the interpreters from source. And don't expect the performance of a desktop.
Can beagleboard run python or Ruby programs?