The Surface surfaces. (Photo: flickr.com/spicagames

"If the deal soured, it would be his 'throat to choke.'" In retrospect, a poor choice of words. [Wall Street Journal]

Spotify has launched a for-real Pandora competitor. [AllThingsD]

However, we'd be very interested to know how much that's going to cost them in royalties. We're guessing a pretty penny. [New York Times]

Might crowdfunding have some less-than-salutory impacts on the economy? [Slate]

Nobody loves Nokia and RIM when they're down and out. [Wall Street Journal]

Meanwhile, Microsoft now has its own tablet. [The Verge]