Q&A: This Newsmakers interview is not with a typical IT guy. In fact, when documentary filmmaker Brian Conley went to Baghdad, he admits, “I didn’t know what a blog was, much less a video blog. I had a friend here in Boston who’s kind of a Web guy.” Conley, who went on to create citizen news site Alive in Baghdad, speaks with senior editor Paul Roberts about the experience, his latest project, and the future of independent media. Columnist’s corner: The boss starts promising customers a major new release of your product in fewer than six months — and it’s the first time he’s told anyone — complete with an advanced architecture not already in place. Well, disaster looms. And when he says it will be best to skip beta testing altogether, corporate catastrophe follows in this week’s installment of Off the Record. Best of the blogs: Can’t wait to get your hands on Vista? Microsoft, through its Virtual Labs, is offering an online trial version, and David Marshall has taken it for a test drive. “My experience with the actual hands-on Vista desktop interaction was quite slow…” The news beat: Zend, in collaboration with Microsoft, readies a certified version of PHP for Windows in collaboration with Microsoft. Salesforce.com launches its Winter ’07 release which brings a real-time messaging and integration bus. And BEA says it will show off its Builder, Runner and Graffiti software for tagging, presenting and searching enterprise data in early March. Technology Industry