AMD Video Acceleration

AMD/ATI Radeon GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are the preferred high-performance graphics processors for Linux systems, as they offer extremely fast 2D/3D graphics rendering and open-source drivers. AMD's new Fusion APUs (Advanced Processing Units) are particularly advantageous for ubermix deployments in schools, as they combine the main processor and graphics processor in one low power chip, reducing power requirements and increasing battery life in low-cost netbooks.

While the default driver in ubermix offers excellent performance, to get the most from an ATI/AMD GPU, such as additional configuration options and to enable video acceleration (including 1080p video playback on low-power Fusion APUs), some additional drivers and software are required. Follow these steps:

1. First, reboot your system in generic mode, as described under "Rebuilding the base image" on the ubermix customization page.
2. Use Firefox to download amd-driver-install-12.10.tgz. When Firefox asks you what to do with the file, choose "Open with Archive Manager". The file is fairly large, so it could take a little time to download on a slow link.
3. When the archive manager loads, click on the "Extract" button, then click on "Extract" again to save the file in your home folder. Close the archive manager when complete.
4. Open your home folder using the launcher (press the "Windows" of 'Home" key on your keyboard to return to the launcher), then locate and open the "amd-driver-install" folder.
5. Double-click on the "install-amd-driver.sh" file, and click on the "Run in Terminal" button when prompted.

After performing the above steps, you will be led through the installation process.