I'm an undergrad at Berkeley, so of course I've got some opinions.

Go Bears! (I'm Cal, class of '93.) Did I mention that we're always looking for good grad students?

My favorite labs to actually work in are our SunRay thinclient labs

It's cool that you just stick your smartcard in wherever and poof, there's your session again. However, the SunRay boxes I've played with are just dog slow, plus they don't support resolutions over 1280x1024. Other `thin client' solutions (e.g., NCD NC900's) seem similarly lame. These new Dell boxes are more than quiet enough; you have to stick your ear practically right next to the back to hear anything, and they're general purpose boxes. You can strip a Dell down to the point where it costs barely more than a thin client, if you really want.

All the grad students here work on laptops. Virtually none of the undergrads do. I'm not sure, why, or if your dynamics are the same. Nothing makes a laptop more practical than 802.11b wireless. And power outlets.

We have all that, but here people seem to prefer working in their offices. You can be more productive on a real keyboard with a bigger monitor and a nice office chair. (The poof chairs wouldn't necessarily be for "working", although I can see people using laptops there.)

It seems we're talking more of a break room than a place to really get stuff done. To that end, table space without computers on it is important. So is allowing food. (You'll have to replace those aforementioned keyboards a bit faster, but who cares).

Food isn't going to be a problem. Spare table space is an interesting thought. I'll have to think about that.