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Computer Facility • 53 Church Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Computer Labs

Our labs are equipped with an array of hardware, outlined below. We also have extensive software.

53 Church Street

Lab (Room #) Resources
Shared Lab Resources
  • Wired Gigabit Networking to Lab Workstations with Redundant Fiber Optic Internet Backbone Links
  • Wireless b/g/n Networking (wireless radius includes outdoor patios and nearby cafés)
  • HP Black and White LaserJet printer (printing of small print jobs is included for registered continuing education students)
  • HP Color LaserJet printer (requires permission from front desk)
Video Streaming Lab (L01)
  • 32 17″ MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB of Ram and Configured as Dual Boot for use with Macintosh OS X (10.6) Snow Leopard and Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise Edition
  • Remote controlled Sony video cameras and desktop microphones for video conferencing education
  • Dual over-head projection system with touch panel control of multi-media instructional hardware
  • 1 Samsung Document Camera
Macintosh Lab (104)
  • 31 MacPro Dual 2.8GHz Quad-Core 64-bit Intel Xeon (8 Processor cores) Workstations with 10GB of ECC RAM, 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drives
  • Each includes the high-end NVIDIA QuadroFX 4800 video graphics card with 1.5 GB of video RAM and 24 CUDA-compliant GPUs with 8 processor cores providing 192 cores pushing 196,608 symmetrical processing threads at 76 GB per second throughput
  • Each configured as Dual Boot for use with Macintosh OS X (10.6) Snow Leopard and Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise Edition
  • Each workstation comes with a 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD-+R DL/DVD-+RW/CD-RW)
  • Each features a 23″ Flat Panel Aluminum Cinema Displays
  • High-definition movie production non-linear video editing software from Apple Final Cut Studio to Adobe Master Collection
  • Autodesk Maya 3-D Animation and Rendering Software
  • Dual over-head projection system with touch panel control of multi-media instructional hardware
Multimedia Lab (105)
  • 5 MacPro Dual 2.8GHz Quad-Core 64-bit Intel Xeon (8 Processor cores) Workstations with 10GB of ECC RAM, 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drives
  • Each includes the high-end NVIDIA QuadroFX 4800 video graphics card with 1.5 GB of video RAM and 24 CUDA-compliant GPUs with 8 processor cores providing 192 cores pushing 196,608 symmetrical processing threads at 76 GB per second throughput
  • Each configured as Dual Boot for use with Macintosh OS X (10.6) Snow Leopard and Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise Edition
  • Pioneer Blu-Ray 12x – 24x disc drive burner/reader (BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL, DVD-R/+R SL, DVD-R/+R DL, DVD-RW/+RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R, CD-RW)
  • 3 Canon 9950 High Resolution Scanners with back-light capability
  • 2 High Definition DV, DVD, and VHS Duplication Stations
  • 5 Digital Video Recorder Decks configured with software control
  • Each features a 30″ Flat Panel Aluminum Cinema Displays with second 17" monitor for video playback and palette display
  • High-definition movie production non-linear video editing software from Apple Final Cut Studio Pro to Adobe Master Collection
  • Autodesk Maya 3-D Animation and Rendering Software
Mobile Classroom (106)
  • IBM/Lenovo Core 2 Duo or Intel Core Duo MacBook Pro Laptops available for classes
  • Projection System
Adaptive Technology and Mini Lab (107)
  • 4 Dell OptiPlex Desktop Computers
  • 19″ Flat-Panel Display
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive

Adaptive Technology Hardware

  • 3 Dell OptiPlex Desktop Computers
  • 22″ Flat-Panel Display
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive
  • Smartview SV80000 Document/Object Magnifier with inverse color view

Adaptive Technology Software

  • Dragon Naturally Speaking Voice Recognition Software
  • JAWS Windows Reader
  • MAGIC Screen Magnification Software
  • Kurzweil Optical Character Recognition Software with mp3 text-to-audio creator
PC Classroom (201)
  • 21 Dell OptiPlex 980 2.8GHz Quad-Core 64-bit Intel i7 Workstations with 8GB of Non-ECC RAM, 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drives
  • 20″ Flat-Panel Display
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive
  • Dual over-head projection system with touch panel control of multi-media instructional hardware
PC Classroom (202)
  • 31 Dell OptiPlex 980 2.8GHz Quad-Core 64-bit Intel i7 Workstations with 8GB of Non-ECC RAM, 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drives
  • 20″ Flat-Panel Display
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW Drive
  • Dual over-head projection system with touch panel control of multi-media instructional hardware
Mobile Classroom (203)
  • IBM/Lenovo Core 2 Duo or Intel Core Duo MacBook Pro Laptops available for classes
  • Projection System

Grossman Library

Sever Hall in Harvard Yard, Third Floor, Romm 311
(617) 495-4163

There is another Harvard Continuing Education Computer Lab located in the Grossman Library.
The lab hours are:

Monday through Thursday: 10AM to 10PM
Friday through Saturday: Noon to 6PM
Sunday: Noon to 8PM

Lab access is limited to Harvard Extension School students only. Unlike at the Church Street facility, the HOLLIS catalog is available to all students and does not require a login. Some students prefer the Grossman Library computer lab because it is conveniently located in Harvard Yard. The library offers a large workspace, contains many books used in Extension courses, and offers a writing center to help with papers.

The Windows PCs and software in the Grossman Library computer lab are the same as at 53 Church Street laboratory PC Classroom 201. The library and lab are both wheelchair accessible.