computer science

GeoNet (email host)

GeoNet (email host) is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GeoNet (email host) rather than just read about it. In short: GeoNet was an early international online services network built using microcomputers. Based on the software developed in Germany by GeoNet Systems GmbH in the early 1980s, and completed in the early 1990s, it was one of the first networks to offer a comprehensive online services platform, and was early to market with a number of innovations.

Key takeaways

GeoNet (email host) belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GeoNet (email host) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GeoNet (email host) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

GeoNet was an early international online services network built using microcomputers. Based on the software developed in Germany by GeoNet Systems GmbH in the early 1980s, and completed in the early 1990s, it was one of the first networks to offer a comprehensive online services platform, and was early to market with a number of innovations. Unlike other "mailbox" systems at the time, GeoNet had a user-friendly command interface and made extensive use of distributed processing technology.

History GeoNet became an important force in the European market within 15 months of introducing its first system in the early 1980s, and by 1986 had an installed base of some 25 systems in 8 countries. By the early 1990s, GeoNet systems had been established in Austria, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, UK, USA and USSR. Apart from the Austrian PTT and An Post in Ireland, most of the operators were independent private companies.

System features and design GeoNet systems were strongly interconnected using a proprietary pre-X.400 protocol, called "InterMail". The so-called "GeoMail" network constituted a worldwide “private domain”, later interconnected with other public and private domains through X.400. Later versions of GeoNet software ran under OpenVMS on DEC hardware. The largest installations ran on Alpha clusters. GeoNet operated centralised system monitoring and maintenance from Germany. Some of the many innovative features of the GeoNet systems:

Cross-system accounting and clearing: the systems were able to bill for many on-line activities, but also had a built-in micropayment clearing system whereby users of one system could use services offered on another and be billed accordingly. Unified database front end: the GeoNet philosophy was to offer users a "one-stop-shop" for on-line services. Users could access a wide range of remote on-line databases using a sophisticated gateway called Intelligent Interface, developed with a research grant from the European Commission. The cost of accessing remote databases was added to the user's bill. Unified messaging: GeoNet was one of the first systems to offer "unified messaging" (a term introduced by Ovum Ltd. in the UK). The "one-stop-shop" metaphor was extended by allowing message exchange with fax, telex, teletex, SMS, pager, voice and Inmarsat-C. GeoNet was one of the first systems to introduce a fax-out service, and also one of the first systems to offer private fax-in numbers, allowing users to send and receive faxes from wherever they could get a connection to their mailbox. Multilingual user interface, in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Forerunner of instant messaging: users could "chat" live online.

Operators The UK systems GEO2 and MCR1 were run by Poptel which aimed its services at non-commercial organisations, and the distinctive GeoNet addressing format (e.g. GEO2:TONY.BLAIR – a well-known user in the early 1990s) was widely recognised in NGO and labour movement circles. In addition, Computer Access (originally Hackney Computer Access)* [see http://www.access-it.org.uk Archived 11 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine] created the Hackney HOST using the GeoNet technology, using this to tackle digital exclusion within East London and the Lea Valley, under the aegis of City Challenge funding. The system in the USSR, MOS1, was established at the height of the "glasnost" period and relayed information about the attempted coup in 1991 to the Western media. The GeoNet name is now used by a German Security-ISP. Geonet's last hostmaster—Kay-Michael Sonntag from Höxter—took over the website | geonet.de as well as their customer base on 21 December 2012 together with Arno Witt and founded the entrepreneurial community of the Web-Security-Hosting-Services already in October 2012. In October 2018, Arno Witt (who previously owned 50% of the company) took over the shares of Web Security Hosting Services UG and integrated the company into the WE Webdesign (owner: Arno Witt) in January 2019. Since then, GeoNet has continued as a department of WE Webdesign. The products of GeoNet, especially the mail accounts from geonet.de and geonet.com, which partly existed since the early 90s, will be strengthened in the future and offered through the WSHS-Solutions.

External links | Web-Security-Hosting-Services UG | WE Webdesign | WSHS Solutions

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GeoNet (email host)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GeoNet (email host) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GeoNet (email host) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GeoNet (email host) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GeoNet (email host)

In research: GeoNet (email host) appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GeoNet (email host) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GeoNet (email host) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1980s establishments in Germany, Computer-related introductions in the 1980s, History of telecommunications in Germany, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GeoNet (email host) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study GeoNet (email host) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GeoNet (email host) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GeoNet (email host) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GeoNet (email host) in simple terms?

Why does GeoNet (email host) matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GeoNet (email host)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GeoNet (email host).