Newbie question: Hacking my deactivated G2 phone

[fielding_mellish]

Hello all,

My old T-Mobile G2 phone was deactivated when I switched carriers last year. I'd like to experiment with it as a media player (Winamp or MixZing) and might try some other things such as a Linux installation. I can connect my G2 to the internet via Wi-Fi but of course do not have a cellular signal. Is it still possible to root the G2 and download apps to it?

Thanks