Microsoft has simply fastened one in all Home windows 11’s neatest options – one which Chief Product Officer Panos Panay known as a ‘game-changer’ when it was first launched again in 2021.

The pre-loaded Clock utility in Home windows 11 has lengthy included a function that means that you can hyperlink up your Spotify account and set it to play particular productivity-focused playlists when you’re using the nifty Focus Help function.

Nevertheless, as beforehand famous by Neowin, the performance had been damaged for months (since a minimum of February 2023, doubtlessly longer), and regardless of Spotify attempting to rectify the difficulty, it turned out to be an expired certificates on Microsoft’s finish breaking the function. Customers trying to hyperlink their Spotify account to Home windows Clock can be met with a clean display and an infinite “Connecting to a service” message.

Fortunately, it appears like the issue is now resolved – partly, it appears, attributable to Neowin’s diligent reporting. When Spotify confirmed that the bug was Microsoft’s fault, Neowin reached out to the Home windows creator to report the difficulty. Lo and behold, a number of weeks later, the issue has been fastened; now you can hook up your Spotify account to the Clock app with no difficulties.

Microsoft, please love all of your youngsters equally

Nevertheless, it appears like the issue continues to be lingering in Home windows 10 – once I tried to attach my Clock app to Spotify on my private desktop PC (after checking for system updates), I obtained the identical empty white window.

Microsoft has been getting an increasing number of aggressive in its efforts to push customers to improve to Home windows 11, however this looks like a spectacular low level. If the issue is one thing so simple as an expired certificates for Spotify’s API entry, why not repair it for each Home windows 10 and 11?

Look, I don’t hate Home windows 11 (though Microsoft’s latest boo-boo over adverts within the Climate app did make me chuckle). I apply it to my work laptop computer and it’s tremendous – in truth, it’s steadily enhancing, steadily including nice options and gathering tempo amongst customers. It’s been on the rise for some time by way of adoption – a fast take a look at the OS part of the Steam {Hardware} and Software program Survey reveals that Home windows 11 is now consuming into its predecessor’s share of the PC gaming area with spectacular velocity.

However as my colleague Darren not too long ago mentioned, Microsoft needs to be utilizing the carrot, not the stick, to spice up Home windows 11 adoption. I like Home windows 10 – why don’t you, Microsoft? It’s probably the greatest working methods ever made, and I don’t need to really feel compelled to desert it since you’re not keen to repair easy bugs that may be fastened in its successor.

It’s additionally frankly not a very good look that it took greater than three months – and a direct criticism from a tech information website – to repair such a easy drawback. Come on, Microsoft. Oh, and you may cease with all of the Bing AI nonsense. If I wished an AI on my desktop, I’d simply use ChatGPT.