Who thought this time last year that SSD maker OCZ would be in this much trouble? The company have announced their reducing a large number of its staff, with as much as 28% of their non-production staff being out of a job, while workers at the company's Taiwan production facility getting cut down by 32%. The company has said:

We are undergoing a transition phase in the Company's evolution in which we are refocusing our efforts on products and strategies that will benefit both OCZ and our stakeholders over the long term. We have already taken aggressive steps to address some short-term tactical challenges and have begun streamlining the organization to help ensure that OCZ will be in the best position moving forward to address the fast growing consumer and enterprise SSD markets.

They aren't just stopping there, either. OCZ plans to discontinue around 150 product variations, too. OCZ adds:

Users of Android on the Verizon network will now have the ability to bill their Verizon Wireless account, instead of using a credit card or other form of payment. This change should help users purchase more apps easily, and is especially important for those users who do not have another form of payment, such as a credit card.

Users will be able to charge up to $25 of apps and other Google Play "merchandise" to their wireless bill every month and then they only have to pay through one channel. This latest addition brings the feature to Verizon, a feature that Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T have had for a while now. Just be sure to keep track of how much you're spending.

If you'd like, it appears to be something you can disable by going to Verizon's site and enabling "Block Web Purchases."

Microsoft is on the receiving end of a patent troll's lawsuit over its just launched Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The patent troll in question is SurfCast and they appear to believe that Microsoft's Windows Live Tiles infringe upon a patent filed in 2000 and granted back in 2004.

The patent that SurfCast is using as the basis of their lawsuit is No. 6,724,403. SurfCast describes Tiles as follows:

Tiles can be thought of as dynamically updating icons. A Tile is different from an icon because it can be both selectable and live -- containing refreshed content that provides a real-time or near-real-time view of the underlying information.

Windows 8 users rejoice! For those of you who feel that little bit missing from the Windows 8 desktop, by which I mean the start button, you now have some choices to replace it with. Win8 StartButton is a free program which replaces the old start menu in the bottom left-hand corner of the Windows 8 desktop view.

Not only does it bring back a familiar interface, it allows for loads more customization. For instance, you can choose many different styles of start menu, such as the classic version, Windows XP version, or Windows 7 version. The application will also allow you to bypass the normal Windows 8 start screen and boot straight to desktop.

Furthermore, you can choose to disable Windows 8's hot corners and many other features. There are also a couple of other programs available that replicate start menu function, though none look quite like the official Microsoft implementation. Pokki for Windows 8, StartMenu7, ViStart, and ClassicShell are all options.

The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) have approved a more flexible wireless power specification that will usher in a new way consumers can wirelessly charge their phones on a variety of compatible surfaces. President of the A4WP, Dr. Kamil A. Grajski, says:

The Alliance for Wireless Power and its members have been focused on creating a more flexible wireless power specification that sets the stage for formal standardization in the future. Approval of the A4WP wireless power specification establishes a true path forward for the commercialization of wireless charging that will satisfy the needs of most consumers. A4WP and its members will now set their sights on building compliant wireless applications that can be integrated by key industries including automotive, furniture and retail.

The new standard is based on a concept of spatial freedom, which extends wireless power applications past the accessory, or add-on market to fully integrated solutions in the device, as well as surfaces such as tables, and cars. The new A4WP specification will bring forth numerous benefits to the wireless charging ecosystem.

Finally, Rockstar have announced the release windows for Grand Theft Auto V - spring 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. GTA V is set in a "re-imagined, present-day Southern California in the largest and most thriving game-world we have ever created set in the sprawling city of Los Santos and for miles beyond - from the tops of the mountains and the depths of the ocean".

Pre-orders will open up on November 5, with the developer to tease even more details of the game in the following weeks. One very negative thing about this is that Rockstar didn't talk about the PC platform in their announcement.

I did see on their site that they posted about the PC version in the comments section stating that "we're currently focused on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game and don't have any details to share about a PC version at this time". It seems that a lot of people, myself included, are disappointed that the ageing consoles are getting their release, but our powerhouse PCs are left out, once again.

Google have just released the new Google Search app for both the iPhone and iPad, which sports enhanced voice search that answers just about any question you have, with Google's comprehensive search results.

Thanks to Google's fast and accurate voice recognition technology, the new app understands exactly what you're saying. All you have to do is not use Siri, load up this app and tap the microphone icon asking a question such as "is United Airlines flight 318 on time?" As you speak, the words appear on screen and you'll receive your answer immediately. If the answer is short, such as asking the time, Google will tell you the answer out loud.

Google's Knowledge Graph is also another great piece of this app, giving their search technology an understanding of people, places and things in the real world. Here are some examples of what questions Google can answer:

Samsung has finally added the iPhone 5 to their infringement lawsuit, with the South Korean company claiming that all LTE-capable devices that Apple sells are in violation of eight patents the company owns. The lawsuit is already considered weak, as some of Samsung's LTE patents would be considered "standards-essential" and subject to FRAND regulations.

Samsung did threaten to "immediately sue" Apple if the new iPhone was LTE-capable, but at the time were unaware that Apple had already launched LTE-capable iPads a few months earlier. How Samsung would not know this, perplexes me, completely. Apple has maintained their stance, stating that they buy their LTE radios from Qualcomm, who has a full license for the patents and therefore that license extends to its customers.

The biggest issue for Samsung is if their LTE patents will be considered standards-essential when tested in court. The company is now at risk of having some patents ruled FRAND-eligible, which would weaken their portfolio. Worse, is if some of their patents are considered invalid, but Samsung are said to own around 12.2% of all LTE patents. Qualcomm and Nokia both hold equal, or larger stakes in the technology.

According to Strategy Analytics' latest figures, loyalty for the iPhone has dropped in both the US and Europe. This marks the first time since the iPhone launched in 2007 that the number of iPhone users stating they'd either definitely, or will probably purchase their next phone from Apple has dropped, both in the US and Europe.

The latest figures from the Wireless Device Lab Report found that 88% of US-based iPhone owners planned on upgrading to another iPhone, which is down from 93% last year. Over in Europe, 75% would stay with the iPhone, down from 88% in 2011.

Strategy Analytics' director said that the new numbers show a continuing success for Apple, where they've been able to retain their existing user base, while attracting new customers. He did cite that negative press and accusations of a lack of innovation by Apple are pushing customers toward other products from different manufacturers like Samsung, for example.

In a sea of bad quarterly earnings reports from competitors, ASUS are standing strong with some positive third quarter results this week. The Taiwanese maker of just about everything these days reported a revenue of $3.8 billion with a net income of $230 million.

Revenue saw a rise of 9% year-over-year, with net income boosting up by around 43% in the same period. Revenue is up 18%, with net income up 39%, sequentially. Expectations were lower than this, with over 12 analysts expecting net income to reach just $185 million, meaning ASUS beat analysts' expectations by over 10%. Where is this surge coming from, you aks? Tablets.

ASUS have been able to successfully glide over from the sinking netbook market to the ever-expanding and super-popular tablet market. If we look back to Q2, ASUS shipped 800,000 tablets - fast forward to Q3 and we're looking at tablet shipments hitting 2.3 million, a meteoric rise. Shipment increases can be credited to the great Nexus 7 tablet which ASUS co-developed with Google. ASUS didn't give the goss on just how many Nexus 7's shipped, but it would have to be a chunk of that 2.3 million.