AP Technology NewsBrief at 11:52 a.m. EST

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sony likely to unveil next PlayStation on Feb. 20NEW YORK (AP) _ Sony is poised to unveil the next PlayStation at an event in New York City in Feb. 20. The Japanese electronics giant invited journalists to an evening press event. The company has not said what it plans to show off, but signs indicate that it'll be the PlayStation 4.

Panasonic, Sharp expect red ink despite yen helpTOKYO (AP) _ Japanese electronics makers Panasonic Corp. and Sharp Corp. both stuck to full year forecasts for massive losses even as results for the latest quarter got a boost from the weaker yen. The two Osaka-based companies are among the Japanese electronics makers battered by price plunges in gadgets and hot competition from more successful rivals such as Apple Inc. and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.

Teenage hacker sentenced in UK for cyber-attacksLONDON (AP) _ A British court has sentenced a teenage hacker to youth rehabilitation after he and other members of the Anonymous movement carried out cyber-attacks targeting financial sites like PayPal and Visa. Jake Birchall had admitted conspiring to impair the operation of computers in 2010 and 2011. The 18-year-old Birchall was sentenced Friday to 18 months of rehabilitation and 60 hours of unpaid work.

NY Times says Chinese hacked paper's computersBEIJING (AP) _ Chinese hackers repeatedly penetrated The New York Times' computer systems over the past four months, stealing reporters' passwords and hunting for files on an investigation into the wealth amassed by the family of a top Chinese leader, the newspaper reported Thursday. Security experts hired to investigate and plug the breach found that the attacks used tactics similar to ones used in previous hacking incidents traced to China, the report said. It said the hackers routed the attacks through computers at U.S. universities, installed a strain of malicious software, or malware, associated with Chinese hackers and initiated the attacks from Chinese university computers previously used by the Chinese military to attack U.S. military contractors.

Apple blocks Java on Macs due to vulnerabilitiesNEW YORK (AP) _ Some Mac users were taken by surprise Thursday as their computers stopped running programs written using the Java programming language after Apple blocked Java due to security problems. Java allows programmers to write a wide variety of Internet applications and other software programs and run them on most computers, including Apple Inc.'s Mac. However, earlier this month the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommended disabling Java in Web browsers to avoid potential hacking attacks. Oracle Corp., which owns Java, has issued updates that fix known vulnerabilities, but the DHS expects that there are more flaws in Java's coding.

Panasonic returns to profit on cost cuts, yen dropTOKYO (AP) _ Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp. returned to the black last quarter as cost cuts and a weaker yen offset sliding sales. Panasonic is among the Japanese electronics makers battered by price plunges in gadgets and hot competition from more successful rivals such as U.S. manufacturer Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea.

US weighs tougher action over China cyberattacksWASHINGTON (AP) _ High-level talks with the Chinese government to address persistent cyberattacks against U.S. companies and government agencies haven't worked, so officials say the Obama administration is now considering a range of actions. China-based hackers have long been an economic and national security concern, but as cybersecurity experts report an increase in attacks, U.S. leaders are looking at ways to better address the threat and analyze its impact.

CES gadget show host drops CNET as awards pickerLOS ANGELES (AP) _ The industry group that hosts the annual gadget show known as International CES is dropping reviews website CNET as the picker of its "Best of CES" awards. It says CNET reviewers' objectivity was compromised by the site's corporate parent, CBS Corp. The Consumer Electronics Association also elevated the CNET writers' initial pick for the best gadget of the show, Dish Network Corp.'s Hopper with Sling, to co-winner along with a gaming tablet called Razer Edge.

IDC: Apple dominates in tablets, but share shrinksNEW YORK (AP) _ Apple continues to dominate in tablet computers, although its market share is shrinking because of growing competition from Samsung and others, research firm IDC said Thursday. Apple Inc. shipped 22.9 million iPads worldwide in the October-December quarter, during which it released a smaller version and updated its full-size models. That's growth of 48 percent from the same period a year earlier. But IDC said Apple's market share fell to 44 percent, from 52 percent.

Review: BlackBerry Z10 is good stab at rebirthNEW YORK (AP) _ Are you ashamed to have a BlackBerry It's not exactly a status symbol any more, at least not in the U.S., after it got left in the dust by the iPhone. Now, there's a new BlackBerry that wants to get back into the cool club: the Z10. It's the first phone to run the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, and it is, at first blush, a very good stab at regaining at least some of the cachet of the BlackBerry.

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