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2007年8月3日星期五

2007年体育大事记

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你们去,把所看见所听见的事告诉约翰,就是瞎子看见,瘸子行走,长大麻疯的洁净,聋子听见,死人复活,穷人有福音传给他们。凡不因我跌倒的,就有福了!
—— 耶稣

Strategies: Determing the best legal form for your business

The other day I was having a heated discussion with someone about what type of business they should start.

By "type of business," I don't mean what products they should sell or whether they should be a manufacturing or service company. No, we were debating which legal form their business should take.

When you've got so much other stuff to worry about, why even bother dealing with your "corporate form." After all, if you're going to be a consultant, a graphic designer, or an electrical contractor, why spend more money on legal or corporation fees?

But choosing a legal form affects how much you pay in taxes, who can invest in your company, and most importantly, your personal financial security.

Three things to keep in mind when choosing a legal form are:

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Rhonda Abrams | Liability | Disadvantages

Liability: Legally, corporations (and limited liability companies – or LLCs) are individual entities. As such, the corporation – not individual shareholders – are responsible for the actions of the business. In other words, if something goes very wrong and a corporation is sued, only the assets of the corporation, not the owner's personal assets — are at stake. There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally, your personal liability is GREATLY limited.

Double taxation: No one likes paying taxes even once, so you certainly don't like paying taxes twice – once on income for the business and then again when that income is distributed as profits to you. That's why most businesspeople choose a legal form that allows for the profits of the company to "pass through" to the owners, without having to pay corporate taxes first.

Ownership: Certain legal business forms limit the number or type of people who can invest in your company. If you're seeking a large number of investors or international investors, find a corporate structure that permits such stock holders.

It's always best to sit down with an attorney – and possibly an accountant — and discuss the best corporate structure for your specific business and circumstance. And state corporation laws differ.

When you do meet with an attorney, these are the legal structures you'll consider:

Sole Proprietorship: A business owned by one person with no formal legal structure.

Advantages: It's simple! Just start your business; there's no additional paperwork. You don't file corporate income taxes – just a Schedule "C" with your personal income taxes.

Disadvantages: You have no personal liability protection. If your business is sued, you could lose everything you own – and in some cases, your spouse could lose his or her assets also.

Partnership: A business with more than one owner who actively engages in the management of the company.

Advantages: No required legal forms (although you'd be well advised to draw up a partnership agreement). No double taxation – profits pass through to the partners.

Disadvantages: Each partner has unlimited personal liability, even for actions taken by other partners. Be warned: if you go into business with others, you've got a partnership in the eyes of the law whether or not you've drawn up any paperwork.

Limited Liability Company (LLC): A legal form providing liability for company's owners without incorporation. LLCs have become the form of choice for many small companies.

Advantages: Personal liability protection for owners and pass through profits without corporate taxes. Profits can be distributed unequally – a 60% shareholder can take only 10% of the profits – allowing more flexibility for tax planning.

Disadvantages: LLC laws vary by state, but you're likely to be limited in how many investors (owners) you can have and you may not be able to have international investors.

"S" Corporation: A type of corporation provides personal liability protection for owners with pass-through taxation (rather than double taxation).

Advantages: Before the creation of LLCs, the form of choice for small companies; lawyers and accountants are familiar with laws relating to S corporations.

Disadvantages: You can't distribute profits unevenly as you can with LLCs and pay state corporate fees.

"C" Corporation: A corporate form that allows for the most investors (including foreign investors) and significant liability protection.

Advantages: No limit to the number of people who can own stock. This is the legal form for companies that intend to be publicly traded.

Disadvantage: Double taxation.

Rhonda Abrams is author of Trade Show In A Day and president of The Planning Shop, publishers of books and other tools for business plans. Register for Rhonda's free business planning newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com. For an index of her columns, click here. Copyright Rhonda Abrams 2007.


Orangutans "Play Charades" to Communicate With People

Sara Goudarzi
for National Geographic News
August 2, 2007

Captive orangutans "play charades" to communicate with humans, a behavior that suggests the apes tailor their gestures to their audiences.

In a new study, researchers observed orangutans intentionally repeating or modifying hand gestures based on the success or failure of their first communication attempts.

"It was known that orangutans, like all great apes, are able to acquire new gestural signals," said study co-author Richard Byrne, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

"But the charades analogy—implying that the animal is not only communicating as best it can but also picking up on the level of understanding of its audience and modifying subsequent gestures accordingly—is new information."

Understanding how apes, our closest genetic relatives, communicate could provide insight into the strategies that helped shape early forms of human language.

(Related: "Chimp 'Dinner Conversation' Proof of Ape Speech?" [October 20, 2005].)

The study appears this week in the journal Current Biology.

Sounds Like …

Byrne and his St. Andrews colleague Erica Cartmill presented six captive orangutans from two different zoos with either a tasty treat or a not-so-tempting food item.

The orangutans could only obtain the food with human help, so they needed to use gestures to communicate their wants to their helpers.

During the experiment, the orangutans directed all their communication attempts—such as pointing, waving, and blowing raspberries—toward the desirable food.

Sometimes the researchers would "understand" and give the animals the treat.

But other times the helpers purposefully misunderstood the orangutans' requests and gave them only part of the desirable item or the yucky alternative. When the entire portion of the treat was handed over, all but one of the orangutans ceased signaling entirely. Several of these seemingly satisfied individuals retreated into their cages, breaking off contact with the helper.

In cases where the animals were "misunderstood" and received only part of what they requested, they continued to signal to the experimenter, frequently repeating gestures already used.

When the apes were completely misread and didn't get any of the desirable food, they elaborated their range of movements and avoided repeating previously failed signals.

"The response showed that the orangutan had intended a particular result, anticipated getting it, and kept trying until it got the result," study co-author Cartmill said.

Universal Communiqué

Although the study involved only six apes, scientists expect to find such communication patterns across the board in captive orangutans.

"There's no reason to assume that these six would have abilities that would be completely absent or completely unknown in other orangutans," said Robert Shumaker, director of orangutan research at the Great Ape Trust research center.

"If you document these capacities in even a small number of individuals, I think that's very, very meaningful," added Shumaker, who was not involved with the new study.

But researchers are unsure whether this type of gesturing occurs among orangutans in the wild or if it's simply a tactic used exclusively for communicating with humans.

"[It's] hard to detect [in the wild] without setting up a 'dumb audience' situation, as we did in the experiment," study co-author Byrne said.

"But we imagine it is very implausible that this whole subtle process developed in zoos and only for people. Let's be positive: This must be a basic part of orangutan communication."

2007台北电脑应用展 全面免票 首日人潮涌现

【2007年8月2日讯】

一年一度的暑假最大电脑展“台北电脑应用展览会”,今日假台北世贸一馆进行,由于事前的宣导,加上今年首度采取“全面免票参观”的措施,因此开展第一天,就吸引7.5万人进场参观这项展览,而管制区计算人潮的工作人员,光是计算人数就非常难控制。

今日下午,主办单位在主题馆邀请韦汝担任应用展亲善大使,于活动中与台下民众互动,除了获得外贸协会展览处魏光勋处长的加冕以外,并获得知名部落客“辅大猴”的手绘猴画像,而在舞台节目进行时,亲善大使韦汝也即兴进行“小气大财神”的现场活动桥段,让民众欢乐一下午。

除了主舞台活动,主办单位也规画了商务中心、阿兹特克杯电玩赛、行动专区、Linux专区、数位娱乐城、IPOX网络电话、智慧机器人等专区,希望 能将展览的“创意连结、智慧生活”主题,淋漓尽致地在展览中发挥。其中,阿兹特克杯与智慧机器人的专区,很受到年轻族群的欢迎,前者则以Wii与钢弹电玩 结合,后者更在舞台活动中,举行Paro海豹机器人的走秀,吸引众多目光;而行动专区,则是以UMPC、车用电子、行动拍贴受到欢迎。

而在参展厂商部分,知名大厂如宏碁、华硕、联强、捷元等厂商,在系统产品区展开激烈竞争,并且涌入采购人潮,不排除在展览最后关头,各厂商的价格战会更加激烈;另外,英特尔也在会场中设置“PC达人”专区,让参观者可以藉由意见交流的方式,了解采购个人电脑的秘诀。

因为首日涌入人潮的关系,大南汽车配置的小型接驳车,虽然以10─15分钟的间隔发车,但仍然不敷需求,排队人潮持续,尽管在下午曾下过一场大雨,但参观的人气始终不减,预计进入周末与展览最后一日,将冲出人潮最高峰。

Google首席执行长出任苹果电脑董事 微软承受压力将加大


【2006年8月30日讯】



苹果电脑全球研发者大会会场

昨日苹果电脑宣布任命Google首席执行长施密特为苹果电脑的董事,为目前正陷于股票选择权丑闻的苹果电脑带来正面消息。

目前美国证管会正调查数十家企业,由于苹果电脑发生股票选择权会计作业失误之故,除了要延后递交最新季度的财报之外,也被那斯达克股市提出下市之警告,需要进行相关资格审查的听证会,而这也使得苹果电脑陷入股票选择权丑闻的泥沼之中,股价为之下滑。而在施密特被任命为董事的消息传出后,苹果电脑原本下滑的股价马上上涨了32美分。

除了股价回稳之正面消息外,American Technology Research的分析师也表示让施密特加入苹果电脑董事会将有助于加强对微软施压,使得微软所承受的压力加大。

施密特过去曾经担任过Novell的首席执行长、Sun的首席技术官,现在施密特则是Google董事会的成员、普林斯顿大学理事会成员。苹果电脑的共同创办人、执行长贾布斯认为在他成为苹果电脑董事会的一员后,他将会以他的眼光和经验协助指导苹果电脑。

施密特加入苹果电脑董事会后,将使得苹果电脑董事会的董事增加为八人,这八人之中,除了刚加入的施密特,还有苹果电脑创始人贾布斯及美国前副总统高尔这两位知名人物。