The Government Computer Network is a massive network of government computers all linked together, including the DoD, CIA, State Department, and NASA. It is highly regulated by the US government and only very few services are available for public use.[note 1]
History[]
The computer network was developed in the early 1960s and first known as ARPANET, a network established and used by the US Department of Defense. The network later evolved into a large web of linked government computers, used by all major US departments and agencies.[1]
A service also available to the public in the 1980s is D-Mail.[2]
By 1994, video-messages called "vidmail" are also shared via D-Mail.[3]
Criticism on the block for public use[]
Internet rights activists and scientists around the world have for years criticized the restrictions on the network technology. At a computer science conference in 1985 in Davos, Switzerland, British computer scientist and programmer Tim Berners-Lee again stepped up his criticism on the US government for the continued block of public use of the network.[1]
Notes
- ↑ The Government Computer Network is the equivalent to our timeline's internet, but the term "internet" is not used in the show's main content. The only time the term was used is in a news broadcast in the bonus video for 1985, when Tim Berners-Lee and other networking scientists were called "internet activists".
Gallery[]
Internet rights activist
Behind the scenes[]
- While it is known that the internet is highly restricted by the US in the For All Mankind timeline, it is unknown if and how computer networks outside the United States are run.
- The only known publicly available service is D-Mail, the equivalent of OTL E-Mail, and perhaps videotelephony (however, it is unknown if the videophones seen in the show run over the internet).
Trivia[]
- In the Apple TV+ bonus video, the word "Government" is repeatedly misspelled as "Goverment".
- In season 4, in episode 4x03, Dev Ayesa uses the word "e-mail" instead of "d-mail", although on every screen shown the service is still only known as d-mail.
- In episode 4x10, Sergei Nikulov's motel has a sign reading "Free Internet".
- The showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert confirmed in a Reddit AMA on December 8 2023 (during the season 4 release period), that the internet is still restricted in the show's timeline.[4]
See also[]
External links[]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bonus Video: Another Giant Leap: 1984-1992 - Internet Accessibility (1985)
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 2
- ↑ For All Mankind TV series, season 3, episode 5, "Seven Minutes of Terror"
- ↑
reddit.com: AMA with Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert(archived 2024-01-23)
