Reading a lot on the net about people trying to find easier ways to transfer from their Linux machines to Android devices eg. Samsung Galaxy tab. Here's my solution, tested and working:

1. Type "sudo apt-get install mtp-tools mtpfs gmtp".
2. Connect the Android device the PC with a USB cable.
3. Drag down the status bar on android and tap the USB icon.
4. Make sure that there is a check mark next to MTP, not PTP.
5. Launch the "gmtp" on Ubuntu program and click "Connect" button. You should see the contents of the storage on tablet/phone.

You should be able to simply drag and drop files between the gmtp window and another graphical file manager, eg. naultilus.

With a bit more work you can also mount the phone's internal storage and use any file manager or command line to manipulate the files and directories.

I've just transferred about 12 gigs of CBR comic files to the internal storage on my new tablet, so that's my reading material sorted for the next 6 months or so

MATE, the open-source desktop environment whose name no one is sure how to pronounce, is now over a year old. Many of us never thought it would make it this far, but the interface has held its own against competitors like Unity and GNOME Shell. But does MATE have a long-term future in the fast-evolving world of Linux? Here are some thoughts from Christopher Tozzi at linuxtoday.com that we agree with.

When MATE debuted in August 2011, it was a one-man effort by a developer who called himself Perberos to keep alive the GNOME 2 desktop environment, which the GNOME project had deprecated in favor of GNOME 3.

While many welcomed the endeavor as an alternative to GNOME 3 and Canonical’s Unity interface, neither of which enjoyed universal popularity among Linux users, there was also plenty of reason early-on to doubt MATE’s viability. It lacked the backing of any major organization in the open-source channel and endorsement by Linux distributions.

Yet MATE has managed in the last year not only to stick around, but also to grow. Its development team remains small, but now at least includes a half-dozen different individuals from throughout the world. The project has pushed out regular releases, with the most recent, MATE 1.4, appearing at the end of the summer. And Linux Mint, one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions at the moment, has officially adopted MATE as one of its desktop environment choices; in addition, MATE packages have become available for a variety of other distributions.

If you’re a fuddy, unimaginative Linux user, you probably just want a desktop environment that works, even if it lacks all the bells and whistles of ostensibly “next-generation” options like GNOME Shell and Unity.

Good news - MATE fits that bill well!

As a self-described “traditional desktop environment” (the tagline that has replaced the project’s original, tongue-in-cheek, motto, “a non-intuitive and unattractive desktop”) MATE gets the job done without getting in the way, just like GNOME 2 used to do.

But the commitment to simplicity that ensures MATE’s popularity also makes future development plans difficult. How do you improve a product whose major selling point is that, unlike alternative choices, it is static and unchanging?

In part, the answer lies in keeping MATE compatible with the latest and greatest software produced elsewhere in the open-source channel. That means, in particular, upgrading MATE’s backend to work with gtk+ 3, in order to ensure that the most popular Linux applications will continue to work on MATE. Such plans are already on the table.

Yet beyond updates “under the hood,” it seems difficult to make many improvements to MATE that will draw in new users. That will likely be a challenge for the project going forward, especially as GNOME Shell and Unity gain greater followings. Nor is it certain that Linux Mint, which is also creating its own original desktop environment, Cinnamon, will continue supporting MATE once Cinnamon becomes more mature.

But maybe the lack of clear demand for new features to integrate into MATE is a good thing. Some people — and not all of them are neophytes to the computer world — just crave the simplicity and predictability of the same-old software they’ve been using for years.

Consider, for example, all those Windows XP users who would prefer the decade-old operating system to much fancier modern versions. If Windows XP were GNOME 2, and Vista and Windows 7 were GNOME Shell and Unity, these people would be flocking to MATE.

And that’s why MATE is particularly important within the open-source channel, where developers typically prioritize pushing out experimental code and bleeding-edge features, which employers and critics reward highly, much more than they do keeping things simple. In this respect, the MATE developers are a rare breed, but they fill an important niche within the open-source ecosystem. Here’s hoping they continue their work for a while to come.

Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS is out, and what this means for previous 10.04 users is that you can now do an LTS-LTS upgrade, keeping all your settings and programs as is.

But what about your desktop? If like myself you actually HATE the new Unity desktop and want to keep GNOME (I've been using it since 1999 - why change?) then read on.

“GNOME Classic” (properly referred to ‘GNOME Fallback’) is arguably the most familiar Ubuntu desktop and shipped in Ubuntu 10.04 by default.

To install, open the Ubuntu Software Centre and search for ‘gnome-panel’, hit install and log out. Then from the Unity Greeter select the ‘GNOME Classic’ session and login. Voila!

A number of tips and features of GNOME Classic in Ubuntu 12.04:

To move/add/edit panels or applets press Alt+Right Click
Compiz effects are supported – but you’ll need to install the CCSM application to enable specific effects
Non-Compiz users can create a less flat-look by enabling ‘shadow’ in Metacity
Support for themes, etc.

The Linux kernel version 3.5 has been released and is now available for download.

This release includes support for metadata checksums in ext4, userspace probes for performance profiling with tools like Systemtap or perf, a sandboxing mechanism that allows to filters syscalls, a new network queue management algorithm designed to fight bufferbloat, support for checkpointing and restoring TCP connections, support for TCP Early Retransmit (RFC 5827), support for Android-style opportunistic suspend, btrfs I/O failure statistics, and SCSI over Firewire and USB. Many small features and new drivers and fixes are also available.

Together with a new version of X Server, Linux 3.5 will offer improved hybrid graphics support. The new kernel supports "FireWire Target Disk Mode", which is a familiar Mac feature, and performance monitoring components can now keep an eye on userspace software.

Make sure you are familiar with compiling kernels before downloading.

The Ubuntu team is very pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Long-Term Support) for Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products.

Codenamed “Precise Pangolin”, 12.04 continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, introducing a few new features and improving quality control.

To be a bit more precise about what we’re releasing today…
there are 54 product images and 2 cloud images being shipped with this 12.04 LTS release, with translations available in 41 languages.

The Ubuntu project’s 12.04 archive currently has 39,226 binary packages in it, built from 19,179 source packages, so lots of good starting points for your imagination!

For PC users, Ubuntu 12.04 supports laptops, desktops, and netbooks with a unified look and feel based on an updated version of the desktop shell called “Unity”, which introduces “Head-Up Display” search capabilities. Finding and installing software using the Ubuntu Software Centre is now easier thanks to improvements in speed, search and usability.

Ubuntu Server 12.04 has made it much easier to provision, deploy, host, manage, and orchestrate enterprise data centre infrastructure services with the introduction of new technologies such as “Metal as a Service” (MAAS), the Juju Charm Store, and the latest OpenStack version, codenamed Essex. These technologies further position Ubuntu Server.

Download ubuntu 12.04 here.