*

Members of the media are still reeling from yesterday’s revelation, courtesy of The Daily Beast, that Facebook hired public relations firm Burson-Marsteller to pitch anti-Google stories to publications. And while some, like TechCrunch’s MG Siegler, think Facebook’s actions were deplorable, others pointed out that unfortunately, this is not an industry first. Unsurprisingly, Facebook and Burson-Marsteller have since parted ways, and the PR firm even went so far as to release a statement that blames Facebook: “[T]his was not at all standard operating procedure and is against our policies, and the assignment on those terms should have been declined.” Readers, what do you think of the Facebook PR brouhaha: overblown or inexcusable? Chime in via comments below. (TechCrunch, PRWeek US, and Silicon Alley Insider)

* According to Reuters, Cisco could lay off around 3,000 employees, or 4% of its entire staff, in possibly the largest round ever for the company in order to meet CEO John Chambers’ goal of trimming costs by $1 billion. (Reuters)

* An in-depth look at tech angel investor Ron Conway, aka the “Godfather of Silicon Valley,” who once told Fortune he sees roughly 70% of all start-up deals in the area. (Silicon Alley Insider)

* When asked about the possibility of a multipurpose tablet device from Amazon, CEO Jeff Bezos merely said,“stay tuned.”  (Consumer Reports)

* Could Samsung’s all-new 10.1-inch 2,560 x 1600 display pave the way for the iPad 3? (TUAW)

* The ongoing PlayStation Network outage
may
be contributing to the increased number of PlayStation 3 consoles being traded in for cash or Xbox 360s. (Edge)

* Why record labels and Google Music couldn’t agree on the cloud. (Hollywood Reporter)

* Hulu, NBC, Fox, and ABC are close to a new deal that would keep their content available for viewing on the popular TV-streaming Web site. (All Things D)

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