[daughart]

The database and internal messaging is at least in part customized IBM software. Howard is friends with IBM Lotus Vice President Jeff Schick and talks about him occasionally. They also seem to use RCS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Computing_Services) Prophet/NexGen software.

As for jokes, I know they don't type (neither Fred nor Benjy can type quickly), and I don't think they hand over pieces of paper (Fred and Benjy sit behind the guests now) -- I believe they have cameras on Benjy and Fred's paper with a live feed to a monitor on Howard's desk.