oldcomputer.narod.ru is the site of the Nizhny Novgorod workshop "Old Computer" (Старый компьютер), which sold and repaired used computer equipment; the page was listed in the nn.ru directory, in the /rub/ section[1]. The earliest snapshot found is dated 2003, the latest — October 2024[1][4]. Already in the earliest snapshot the site listed a Nizhny Novgorod contact — a pager with the code (8312)30-30-30[1], which anchored it in the local segment of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet.

What the site looked like and what it offered

The site's menu remained unchanged throughout its whole life: "Home", "Prices", "We solder and fix…", "We buy old stuff", "Files", "History"[1][3]. The "Files" section served not only as the workshop's showcase: in January 2021 the Old-DOS archive of vintage software took the Russian build of the BSPlayer 0.832 video player from the page oldcomputer.narod.ru/files/mulmedia.htm and named the Nizhny Novgorod site as the file's source[5]. In 2003 the home page addressed the visitor with a series of rhetorical questions — "Is your computer outdated? Do you want to upgrade, trade in, or sell it?" — and offered "a stock of used and new components and ready-made computers, with prices," as well as repair, upgrades, and "useful advice"[1]. Contacts of that period: e-mail oldcomputer@narod.ru, ICQ 94886505, and pager (8312)30-30-30 for subscriber 9043392[1].

By the mid-2010s the wording had expanded to include laptops — "Is your computer or laptop outdated?" — and a section appeared listing reasons to buy used equipment; the contact phone number changed to a mobile one, 8-910-39-37-38-6[2]. By 2021–2024 the number had acquired a Viber format (+7-910-39-37-38-6, calls accepted 9:00 to 21:00), and the "History" section (about the development of computing technology since the 17th century) had gained the note "temporarily not working, we apologize for the inconvenience," which persisted through the last snapshot[3][4]. As the home page stated in 2024, the assortment was "updated 11.11.2021"[4] — the same date also appears in the 2022 snapshot[3], meaning the last substantive update to the news feed dates to November 2021.

Place in the Nizhny Novgorod internet

The site was listed in the nn.ru directory in the /rub/ section, with a rating value of 22.0 in the registry's sample[1]. No data on its standing in the Counter.nn.ru rating or on votes within the Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day is recorded in our data — this does not mean a zero result, but that the corresponding sample was not preserved (more on the method in the Archival study of the Nizhny Novgorod internet from the counter.nn.ru rating).

Fate of the address

The registry recorded the site's status as "dead" as of 2024, with years of existence 2003–2024[1]. There is no data in the material about a move to another domain. The last snapshot in the web archive is dated October 2, 2024, and shows a working site with the same menu, contacts, and the same news feed unchanged since 2021[4]. When checked in August 2026, the site at this address was responding.

Sources

  1. oldcomputer.narod.ru — Site census card / home page, 2003 (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — Home page, 2016 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, 2022 (archive)
  4. web.archive.org — Home page, 2024 (archive)
  5. old-dos.ru — BSPlayer, program card in the Old-DOS archive: build 0.832 "Taken from http://oldcomputer.narod.ru/files/mulmedia.htm"