And if the donated item-say a computer-is given by a business that has already deducted the item as a business expense, there is no further writeoff.

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The computer as a consumer electronics item?

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The PC power supply is probably the most failure-prone item in a personal computer.

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Even two decades after the Apollo moon mission, all the energies of hardware manufacturing firms were focused on semiconductors (like DRAMs or CPUs), color televisions, cars, Walkmans, CDs, VHS recorders, and a new consumer item called the personal computer.

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The data capture system only stores one item of information on your computer -- a random number.

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If a customer likes 1 of the 400 sofas on Davidow's floor, he removes a tag from the item and scans it at a computer to see if it's in stock.

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The lab is also working on a house in which every item is tagged with a radio chip, allowing a computer to tally whether an occupant has moved a spoon or turned on the television.

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If a shopper can hop on a site as soon as sales start, he or she is more likely to snag a coveted item than if they were to wait to get to a physical computer.

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