Ask Paul: October 11 (Premium)

Happy Friday! This was a little later than I’d hoped, but it’s still just in time to kick off the weekend.
Dyslexia is incredibly common
madthinus asks:

Do you find it curious that Microsoft issue a blog post on 30 September 2019 in which it basically refer to Dona's old role? Only to announce the change days later in an official Windows blog post. I find it all odd. What is going on here?

That’s just a communications thing; obviously, that change didn’t happen all that suddenly and there was a timing mistake there.

But I am bothered by the “I have a disability” thing. I love Dona, but seriously. Dyslexia is incredibly common, and is nothing like being deaf, blind, or otherwise truly handicapped, and it most certainly doesn’t warrant a post like that. This is a weird form of self-promotion that I have a huge problem with, given that I have a mother who is blind and a son who is deaf. There are no words for how gross this to me.
Removable storage on Surface
harmjr asks:

Removable hard drive not coming to Surface Pro 7 but is on Pro X. Your thoughts and do you think it will make it on Surface Pro 8?

Surface Pro X is the new Surface Pro design, while Surface Pro 7 is, I believe, literally identical to previous versions. So, yeah. I do think that Microsoft eventually goes with the new design on the Intel products, and that removable storage happens at that point. (Also would be surprised if future Surface PCs didn’t have other removable/serviceable components, like RAM.)
Chrome vs. Windows
AnOldAmigaUser asks:

HP and other manufacturers are pushing Chromebooks for the enterprise … to reduce the cost of IT support and maintenance, since maintaining Windows PCs is difficult, and harder now with two updates per year, though Enterprises can keep that number more manageable. If Windows 10X is Windows Lite, or an "expression" of Windows Lite, do you know if it will be as easy to support and maintain as a Chromebook, or at least in the same ballpark? Do they have an even simpler "expression" in the wings?

I believe this is the lightest expression---and ugh to that term---of the Windows codebase for PCs. And we’ve heard from sources that Windows 10X (or something just like it) will come to more traditional form factors like laptops in a future release. As far as managing/supporting any version of Windows in the enterprise, Microsoft pretty much already has something in place with Intune (part of Microsoft 365) and the built-in MDM capabilities in Windows. This gives businesses a choice between traditional management and mobile device management, as with phones, tablets, and Chromebooks.

The issue is more serious in education, because of cost constraints and the lack of IT support. In that kind of environment, Chrome OS remains a lot simpler. (And probably less expensive, but I’m not sure about that.)

Alternatively, since they are OK with marketing an Android device since it will keep users running...