I'm intrigued because I knew an American at uni who insisted that almost all electronic music counted as "techno".
The biggest names on the scene were Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, Göttsching was in a peripheral band called Ashra Tempel but also played drums for Schulze. The less famous names on the scene - Roedelius, Cluster, Conny Schnitlzer - influenced Brian Eno's ambient music when he went over to Berlin to produce Low for Bowie.
As for techno vs house - the big difference is the rhythm pattern. Techno is square and on the grid, house feels like it has some swing and the beat is "skippier" with offbeats, anticipations, and sometimes triplets.
E.g.
Marshall Jefferson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAR8cq5Bl94
Jeff Mills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFlzl2IhFx4
I think I could easily find a dozen examples from both genres that don't match your description... :)
BPM is the best indicator. Most house is slower, most techno is faster.
I'd also add that techno can be traditionally "darker" and "heavier" whereas house is usually a little more "sensual" and "groovy". As always, counterpoints can be found, but these are general orientations :)
Frankie Knuckles - Your Love, Jesse Saunders - On and On, Mr. Fingers - Can You Feel It, Marshal Jefferson - Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem)
Göttsching is indeed techno.
>and the Phuture track in the article is straight up acid techno.
In those days the term used for that style was "acid house". It then turned into various sub-genres (rave, trance, etc). Acid techno is a later name for later genre.
In my mind it's something to explore rather than balk at. If you find something amazing like you've never heard before, then looking at the genre can help you to discover more things like it.
The trick is a good balance, and I personally find that electronic music and metal (as another poster mentioned) have genres that are often too small for my purposes.