OSU Historical Highlights Information Technology .
Information is knowledge or intelligence conveyed in a meaningful way.
Add the word technology, and the term conveys the concept of data, voice, and video that can be sent in a variety of ways, such as wiring and airwaves, computers and telephones, televisions and radios. Information technology roots go back to at least 1832, when Charles Babbage designed prototypes for an analytical engine that contributed to the basic design of the computer, and to 1874 when Alexander Graham Bell secured a patent for his invention of the telephone. The system requires special plug board wiring for each job, processes fewer than 100 cards per minute, boasts a ten-word memory, and limits each job to just 12 program steps. The Numerical Computation Laboratory opens with a three-member staff who run an IBM 602A computer and some recording equipment. The NCL serves 42 customers during the first year.