David Barron Computing Laboratory
The David Barron Computing Lab is an unrivalled facility within the University providing a dedicated and accessible space for ECS students to use for individual and project work. After a recent multi-million pound refurbishment it offers more than 100 powerful individual workstations with ultra-sharp monitors ranging from 27” up to 40”. It also provides a unique space for group working, with large tables and wireless collaborative systems connected to wall-mounted displays of up to 85”, and fixed and mobile glassboards for brainstorming ideas.
The lab also offers laptop work areas allowing students to connect their own equipment to university facilities, a one to one quiet room for skyping or meetings and social spaces which are often used for activities in the evenings and at weekends and for fun events such as the Global Jam Game. The lab also hosts careers events and workshops. Food is permitted in the lab.
Teaching
The David Barron Computing Lab is a lively and communal facility specifically for taught students, however it is not used for any scheduled teaching. The lab provides a popular, lively and energetic space with a supportive community atmosphere and is available in addition to any other labs, tuition and clinics for individual modules.
The lab is open 8am-11pm, 7 days a week, excluding University closure days. Additional support is available from the Programming Help Desk (Monday – Friday, term time only) who will answer any programing related questions and the IT Support Desk for non-programming questions (Monday to Friday all year excluding University closure days at Christmas and Easter).
Equipment
The workstations provided include Windows 10, Macs and Linux systems. They all have at least a quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. The monitors range from 27” 2500x1500 pixels, to 34” wide-screen, to 40” 4K displays.
There are A3 double-sided mono and colour printers which run up to 60 pages per minute; they also provide mono and colour scanning.
There are VIA Collage collaborative working systems available, next to large round tables and chairs, which can be used wirelessly for group working and demonstrations. These are connected to wall-mounted displays ranging from 40” to 85”.
The high capacity WiFi is 802.11ac, at data speeds up to 860 Mbits/sec.
Research
No research is undertaken in this lab.
Business and Enterprise
The lab is not used specifically by external users for their own requirements, but often provides space for careers fairs and workshops – thereby building better relationships with employers and industry connections and providing networking opportunities etc.