Plug it in, mount the drive (/dev/sda1 for me) and voila! works like any other usb harddrive. usb2.0=fast transfer rates. never tried with the internal memory, but the memory stick is formatted with vfat, so it is mounted as read/write. can copy pictures, movies, and/or data to and from the card with no problem.
the only problem i have with the camera is the proprietary USB/composite connector. If it gets damaged, lost, or stolen, youre SOL unless you want to buy one from sony of off of ebay. other than that, i love the camera!

I have used it with Arch .7.0 and .7.1, ubuntu hoary, breezy, and dapper, knoppix 3.7-3.9, all with various kernels, but they all worked the same way--mount the drive and copy the pictures