Best of the blogs: Granted, not many people actually want to intentionally murder their own career. But Leading from the trenches author John West seems to know at least three who fit that profile. And so he presents five sure-fire ways to do yourself in, work-wise of course. “If you apply these tips along with a ‘can do’ attitude and a strong commitment to success you can bring your career to an abrupt halt. With skill, you might even push it over the balance and into decline,” West explains.” Just “don’t be frustrated if you don’t get fired” immediately. Operating systems: No rest for the weary Microsoft marketing machine which, with Windows Vista just getting cozy in retail outlets, is already foretelling of the next client OS. It might be called Vienna, then again it may not. The punch line: Microsoft has already deemed the end of 2009 the timeframe in which it will be available, thereby beginning the continuously repetitive, yes downright redundant, but at times at least mildly entertaining, ‘ship-date-slide’ as they call that favorite dance in Redmond. Notes from the field: Carrying snarkily along, our relentless Robert X. Cringely continues beating the campaign trail of Bill Gates’ presidential run, even if, umm, Mr. Gates is not technically in the race. Perhaps all those security holes in his past are preventing him from joining. By Cringe’s count, the Windows cracks average one per month, but for longer than Windows, or Gates for that matter, has even existed. Michael Dell shows up this week disguised as an eager entrepreneurial college dorm dweller and, separately, Wikipedia proves once and for all that “justice is not merely blind, but deaf and dumb as well.” Dell snags a new/old chief; Turner media promo causes grief. Columnist’s corner: Hitachi this week wed long-time partner Archivas and, while the union is by no means secret, the newlyweds are maintaining a certain degree of privacy. “Anyone expecting a product roadmap (as I did) was left wanting more,” laments Mario Apicella in Hitachi and Archivas tie the knot. The deal does reveal Hitachi’s intents, though, which “shouldn’t fail to reassure potential and current customers.” Careers