In 1969 the United States Department of Defense (DOD) developed ARPANET, the forefather of the Internet. The project was intended to explore communication networks that could survive nuclear attacks but ARPANAT was continued after its initial experimental phase because universities, the DOD, and outside contractors found it convenient for e-mail. By the year 2000, the Internet had reached fruition. The first of the "placeless" technologies, the Internet made geography and distance insignificant allowing for the democratization of distribution, publishing, and purchasing. Online shopping undermined "reality" chains while alternative media attacked the information monopoly of print and television.