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ETM Associates, Inc. (Enterprise Technology Management Associates, Inc.) was incorporated in Delaware in 2001. In 2012 the company changed its name and its focus. Instead of technology and strategic management consulting, as described by these web pages, the newly-named organization, HPL Consortium, Inc. is focused on developing technology tools and processes to help people and groups connect toward Health and Prosperity through Leadership. Check out our new website: HPLConsortium.com and find out what's been happening lately.













   Press Release
"Not Yet" Advises Office 2007 Book Author

June 1, 2007

Amity Township, PA -- Dr. CJ Rhoads, an Associate Professor in the College of Business at Kutztown University and the founder of a business consulting firm, ETM Associates, Inc. located in Douglassville, PA, has co-authored a book on the new application Microsoft Office 2007. The book, "Microsoft Office 2007 in Business: Core Edition" by Joseph Manzo, CJ Rhoads, and Dee Piziak, published by Prentice Hall, is designed to be a course textbook for the new software. However, in her role as a consultant she is still recommending that businesses hold off on purchasing either the book, or the software.

Rhoads explains that upgrading this time will not be like the relatively simple switch from Office 2000 to Office 2003. "Microsoft Office 2007 is a whole new ball game. The interface is completely different. The file formats are completely different, and are incompatible with any previous version of Office." According to Rhoads, the underlying structure of Office 2007 was developed to work effectively with Internet technologies and Vista, the new series of operating systems from Microsoft. Vista was developed to work effectively with a 64 bit computer chip - not yet available on personal computers, but only on high powered workstations and PowerPCs. Rhoads notes; "In a few years this new architecture will enable wonderful capabilities for everyone. But in the meantime, it's going to be a lot of trouble."

Rhoads advises clients to hold off on any information technology purchases for at least a year - maybe even two. "There is a reason they call it the 'bleeding edge'. With technology, if you try to upgrade just one piece, chances are that it will be incompatible with one or more of the existing technologies. Upgrading ends up breaking what was once a smooth working system." Rhoads feels that it's best to wait until all the vendors have "caught up" to each other- the hardware and the operating system and the software - so that they work smoothly together. In two or three years, it will be possible to purchase a computer that was designed and manufactured after the new operating system has stabilized, after the applications have had a chance to be rewritten for the new operating system, after all the vendors have updated their drivers, and many of the worst bugs have been fixed. According to Rhoads, the most stable combination today is a computer based on x86 chip (commonly known as Pentium) with a Microsoft XP operating system and Microsoft Office 2003. "At this point, it would be more effective to get additional memory or hard drive space for your existing system than to make the jump to the new architecture right now. Let all the techies work out the problems and save yourself some major headaches."

ABOUT CJ RHOADS -- Over the past twenty years, Rhoads has held leadership positions at several companies - from Fortune 500 giants to small startups. In 2001 she founded ETM Associates, Inc. She is now a well-known speaker, writer, and consultant helping business leaders increase their bottom lines through implementing better alignment and making better decisions, especially in the information technology domain.

Contact for ETM Associates:
CJ Rhoads
CJRhoads@ETMAssociates.com
484-332-3331


 
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