AP Technology NewsBrief at 4:22 p.m. EST

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Zynga posts smaller 4Q net loss, flat revenueNEW YORK (AP) _ Online game maker Zynga is reporting a smaller net loss and nearly flat revenue for the fourth quarter of 2012, a year in which its stock price shrank 75 percent. The company behind "FarmVille" said Tuesday that it lost $48.6 million, or 6 cents per share, in the October-December period. That compares with a loss of $435 million, or $1.22 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Zynga was privately held for most of the 2011 quarter. It began trading publicly on Dec. 16, 2011.

Dell to go private in $24.4B deal led by founderSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Slumping personal computer maker Dell is bowing out of the stock market in a $24.4 billion buyout that represents the largest deal of its kind since the Great Recession dried up the financing for such risky maneuvers. The complex agreement announced Tuesday will allow Dell Inc.'s management, including eponymous founder Michael Dell, to attempt a company turnaround away from the glare and financial pressures of Wall Street.

New keyboard BlackBerry in US could take monthsTORONTO (AP) _ A modern BlackBerry with a physical keyboard might not arrive in the U.S. until May or June, a month or two behind other parts of the world, the chief executive of the smartphone maker suggested in an interview. Although Research in Motion Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins said the exact release date will depend on each wireless provider, he said the physical keyboard version, the BlackBerry Q10, will likely come out eight to 10 weeks after a carrier releases a model with only a touch screen, the BlackBerry Z10. The Z10 is expected in the U.S. in mid-March, so eight to 10 weeks brings the U.S. date for the Q10 to mid-May to early June.

Pew: Most Facebook users take a breakNEW YORK (AP) _ Too much drama, boredom and scads of irrelevant information are just some of the reasons Facebook users give for taking a break from the world's biggest social networking site for weeks at a time, according to a new study. A report from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that some 61 percent of Facebook users had taken a hiatus of at least several weeks for a myriad of reasons, whether they were weary from an onslaught of gossip, or for the more pious, the arrival of Lent.

Viewer addiction to new Kevin Spacey drama seriesNEW YORK (AP) _ I binged. There was much anticipation for "House of Cards," a new original series from Netflix starring Kevin Spacey that arrived in one big helping _ all 13 episodes of its first season _ on the subscription streaming service last Friday for viewers to enjoy, at their leisure, in the weeks, months or even years to come.

UK: Surveillance devices to monitor Web trafficLONDON (AP) _ The U.K. plans to install an unspecified number of spy devices along the country's telecommunications network to monitor Britons' use of overseas services such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a report published Tuesday by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee. The devices _ referred to as "probes" in the report _ are meant to underpin a nationwide surveillance regime aimed at logging nearly everything Britons do online, from Skype calls with family members to visits to pornographic websites. The government argues that swift access to communications data is critical to the fight against terrorism and other high-level crime.

Live action: Twitter grabs Super Bowl spotlightNEW YORK (AP) _ Beyonce's splashy show, a freak power outage, and _oh, yeah_ a captivating game of football combined to generate a record 24.1 million posts on Twitter during Sunday night's Super Bowl. That's up from 13.7 million last year _ and that doesn't even include chatter surrounding the ads.

Microsoft and Huawei launch phone for AfricaNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Chinese phone maker Huawei and Microsoft are combining forces to sell a new smartphone in Africa, which they say is the world's fastest growing mobile phone market. The two companies launched the Huawei 4Afrika Tuesday. The phone runs Windows Phone 8 and comes pre-loaded with applications designed for the African market.

Investors braced for decline in Disney earningsLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Walt Disney's quarterly earnings are expected to fall slightly, a rare stumble for the owner of some of the most successful TV networks, movie studios and theme parks in the world. The results, due out after the stock market closes Tuesday, will include higher programming costs for college football games on Disney's ESPN channel and a lineup of home entertainment video releases that didn't boast as much box-office appeal as in previous years. Those are two of the key factors that caused analysts surveyed by FactSet to predict Disney's fiscal first-quarter earnings will decline by about 4 percent from the previous year.

Sirius 4Q earnings more than doubleNEW YORK (AP) _ Satellite radio company Sirius XM Radio Inc. said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income more than doubled, helped by higher revenue from a growing number of paying subscribers. The company also said it ended 2012 with 2 million more subscribers than at the end of 2011, and provided a revenue estimate for this year that topped Wall Street expectations.

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