Seems that even Windows users found the software for this camera was
flaky Couldn't tell from the reviews I read if it has a memory
card or if it's all on-board - if it does have a memory card then the
way round the problem is to use a card reader instead of plugging the
camera itself into the PC.

As for why the latest Ubuntu doesn't like this camera - OS's develop
and in doing so the can break compatibility with hardware. Usually not
something that Linux in general has a huge problem with but it does
happen. In the same way that some models of one make of peripheral
will prove to be more troublesome than others in Linux, a lot depends
on how the firmware is written !!