Once you have worked on any system with multiple monitors going back to a single monitor is difficult. I myself have done web development on a triple monitor setup, 3 19″ LCD panels and now anything less is hard. Now moving into the virtualization space, you may think that the multiple monitor setup is dead, but truly there are actually more possibilities then ever before. With vmware tools installed, and 2 monitors you can drag files back and forth between not only monitors but completely different operating systems.

Here are the most common setups which are possible in a virtual world, in regards to multiple screens:
1) Multiple Monitors = Multiple Virtual Machines
1.a) User a single computer with multiple monitors to display multiple virtual machines, either in VMware workstation or VMware Server.
1.b) Use multiple physical computers to remotely connect to many virtual machines on a virtual server.

2) Spanning all the monitors on one pc with a single virtual machine
2.a) Using VMware Workstation 6 or greater to span the physical monitors on a single system.
2.b) Using Microsoft remote desktop to connect to a remote virtual machine, and using the remote desktop spanning capabilities to cover all monitors

3) Connect to virtual monitors on a virtual machine from a physical machine
3.a) Using a tool like VNC, connect to a machine, and display one of its virtual monitors remotely, useful when you have multiple computers, each with a single monitor, as the mouse can seamlessly move between any monitor.

2 Programs Which Every Multi Monitor Setup Should Have:

Ultramon
Realtime Soft UltraMon
UltraMon is a utility for multi-monitor systems, designed to increase productivity and unlock the full potential of multiple monitors.
* efficiently move windows and maximize windows across the desktop
* manage more applications with the Smart Taskbar
* control application positioning with UltraMon Shortcuts
* multi-monitor support for desktop wallpapers and screen savers
* mirror your main monitor to secondary monitors for a presentation

UPDATE: You only need a single license for the base workstation, not each Virtual Machine
I have confirmed with Christian Studer of Realtime Software, that “you would only need a single license, the virtual machines don’t require a separate license.” So if you have a license for your main system you are all set for licensing.

Splitview
SplitView - Split screen monitor
Split your monitor! SplitView increases productivity by making it easy to work with two or more applications side by side. It helps make full use of your high resolution monitor and gives the benefit of dual-monitors without their associated cost. SplitView is perfect for deploying Citrix and Remote Desktop with dual-monitors, and ideal for using dual-monitors in ’span’ mode.

Sources:
VMware Communities: Rotated Monitor in XP Pro
Breaking News–Workstation 6 Previews VMware’s Future Server Virtualization

Ultramon forum
Realtime Soft Forum
Realtime Soft Forum

VMware Workstation 6.0 Users Manual [PDF format]
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/ws6_manual.pdf

Virtual PC Related:
Using Virtual PC with Multiple Monitors, Sort Of

Terminal Server Client
Terminal Services Team Blog : Multi Monitor support in the Vista TS Client

Here are 5 virtual machines some are even prebuilt, for uses that you wouldn’t normally expect to see a virtual machine made for. x86 has chosen virtual machines for all aspects of life, beyond the normal workstation and server virtualization needs. The collection includes gaming, entertainment, science, voip and a few more unique ideas.

1. Mythtv: Linux based home entertainment console, inside a virtual machine

NOTE: Virtualization doesn’t allow direct access to PCI cards, so there is no way to access ANY pci turner cards. But usb devices can be passed through to the linux host with virtualization software such as VMware Workstation 6.0.

Sources:
http://www.mythtv.org/index.php
http://www.techwandering.com/…/how-to-run-mythtv-on-windows/
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/…/180429
http://www.opensolaris.org/jive/thread.jspa?messageID=130910
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/991

2. Asterisks: Voip phone server, to handle your voice mail and conference calls all preconfigured.
Asterisk-Skypho 0.9.1

This VM is a ready-to-go appliance with Asterisk 1.2.4 pre-configured to access italian VoIP operator Skypho (www.skypho.net). Once installed you will be guided in a simple installation process.
An integrated readme will help users configure asterisk files with their own phone numbers, username and password.
The VM has been tested with VMWare Server 1.2.
Note: for now the readme files and other documentation is only in Italian language.

sources:
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/800

3. Folding at home

Folding@home is a distributed computing project — people from throughout the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer takes the project closer to our goals. Folding@home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems millions of times more challenging than previously achieved. Help fight the war on cancer with this simple to run virtual machine.

sources:
http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?showtopic=29163
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/963

4. Zoneminder

ZoneMinder is intended for use in single or multi-camera video security applications, including commercial or home CCTV, theft prevention and child or family member or home monitoring and other care scenarios. It supports capture, analysis, recording, and monitoring of video data coming from one or more video or network cameras attached to a Linux system. ZoneMinder also support web and semi-automatic control of Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras using a variety of protocols. It is suitable for use as a home video security system and for commercial or professional video security and surveillance. It can also be integrated into a home automation system via X.10 or other protocols. If you’re looking for a low cost CCTV system or a more flexible alternative to cheap DVR systems then why not give ZoneMinder a try?

http://www.zoneminder.com/…a50c78df4edda9819
X10 + Linux + $50 = Automated lights | Hack Your World.com

5. Backtrack 2

BackTrack is the result of merging the two innovative penetration testing live linux distributions Auditor and Whax. Backtrack provides a thorough pentesting environment which is bootable via CD, USB or the network (PXE). The tools are arranged in an intuitive manner, and cover most of the attack vectors. Complex environments are simplified, such as automatic Kismet configuration, one click Snort setup, precompiled Metasploit lorcon modules, etc. BackTrack has been dubbed the #1 Security Live CD by Insecure.org, and #32 overall.

The Only Official Version of BackTrack2 as Virtual Appliance with Metasploit 3

The Ethical Hacker Network proudly releases this Official Version of BackTrack 2, so DL and start (ethical) hacking!

http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/1048

Runners Up:

RoboDeb A complete robotics simulation environment for teaching concurrency and parallelism.

MediaCenter: podcast-video-music

DNALinux VDE: Virtual Desktop Edition: Suite of Bioinformatics software
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/963

Nostalgia: Old DOS games from the early 90’s
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/126

Scientific Linux 5.0 Virtual Machine

Scientific Linux is a recompiled Red Hat Enterprise Linux put together by various labs and universities around the world.
Connie Sieh has announced the release of Scientific Linux 5.0, a distribution rebuilt from source packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and enhanced with a variety of additional applications: “Scientific Linux 5.0 i386 is now available.” Some of the extra applications include: “CFITSIO - a library of C and FORTRAN subroutines for reading and writing data files in FITS; FUSE - an implementation of a fully functional file system in a userspace program; Graphviz - graph visualization tools; IceWM - a lightweight window manager; Intel wireless firmware, MadWiFi and NdisWrapper; Java; MP3 support; OpenAFS; R - a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics.

sources:
http://www.mininova.org/tor/791643

OLPC: One Laptop Per Child

XO is built from free and open-source software. Our commitment to software freedom gives children the opportunity to use their laptops on their own terms. While we do not expect every child to become a programmer, we do not want any ceiling imposed on those children who choose to modify their machines. We are using open-document formats for much the same reason: transparency is empowering. The children—and their teachers—will have the freedom to reshape, reinvent, and reapply their software, hardware, and content.

Sources:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OS_images_for_emulation

Bit Torrent Client:
http://www.howtoforge.com/ubuntu_lamp_torrentflux_vmware

Save $700 Early Bird Price
expires December 14th, 2007

Reaching Beyond Physical IT: Explore the Power of Virtualization in Enterprise Computing

2008 Call for Papers Now Open! Deadline: December 21,2007

Virtualization, the fundamental technological innovation that allows skilled IT managers to deploy creative solutions to such business challenges, is rapidly evolving from taking one computer and making it appear to be many computers, to virtualizing almost any information technology resource.

Virtualization of distributed computing, of IT resources such as storage, bandwidth, and CPU cycles are all increasing significantly in importance within enterprise IT. Virtualization can also apply to a range of system layers, including hardware-level virtualization, operating system level virtualization, and high-level language virtual machines.

In short, Virtualization is being adopted by IT organizations around the world so rapidly right now that, according to research firm IDC, spending on virtualization software and services is expected to exceed $15 billion worldwide by 2011 - up from $6.5 billion in 2006.

The Virtualization Conference & Expo 2008 East, taking place on June 23-24, 2008 in New York City, is the leading event covering the booming market of Virtualization for the enterprise. Topics will include:

* I/O Virtualization
* Application Virtualization
* Desktop Virtualization
* Network Virtualization
* Physical to Virtual (P2V) Migration
* Server Virtualization
* Storage Virtualization
* Virtual Machine Automation
* File Virtualization
* Management Applications, Tools and Utilities
* Virtualization Scripts and Procedures
* Paravirtualization
* Real-time Virtualization
* Device Virtualization
* Thin Client Solutions
* Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
* Greening of IT
* Vista & Virtualization
* Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol
* Virtual Machine Desktops
* Security & Performance Issues
* Virtualization Security Audits
* Utilization and Performance
* Virtual Backup
* Systems Integration
* Cloud Computing
* High Availability (HA)
* KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
* Virtual Appliances
* and more…

Power Panels
The conference is colocated with SOA World Conference & Expo 2008 East. In addition to its core program, the event features three Power Panels. Don’t miss the SOA/Web 2.0/AJAX Power Panel and Virtualization Power Panel. The Power Panels are FREE to all attendees, and will be recorded for broadcast by SYS-CON.TV.

Who Should Attend?
CEOs and CTOs, senior architects, project managers, Web programmers, Web designers, technology evangelists, user interface architects, consultants, and anyone looking to stay in front of the latest Web technology!

Sponsorship Opportunities
SOAWorld and Virtualization Conferences together deliver the #1 i-technology educational and networking opportunity of the year. Please call (201)802-3020

Conference Website
http://virtualizationconference.com/

Want to build a safe secure redundant load balanced corporate infrastructure all inside one box?

Here are some simple DIY plans.

What is required is a dual nic server, with a installed virtual machine manager capable of supporting a virtual networks along with bridged connections to the intranet and internet.

Here is the diagram of the layout of your secure network:

The thinking behind this is to protect your servers from attacks from the internet. By passing all traffic from the first physical nic into a firewall virtual machine and then onto the virtual network prevents many common attacks, yet provides effective access to all resources from the outside and inside your corporation. The addition of a load balancer virtual machine allows the addition of multple http or mail servers to cover the demands. By adding a second virtual network for the database and http server it prevents bottlenecks on the main virtual network and secures the database server from outside attacks.

Some other ideas include having a VPN virtual machine to allow direct access from the primary physical nic to the secondary nic, bypassing the firewall and virtual network.

Here are some great pre made virtual images to use for your secure virtual network:

Firewall Images
Sieve Firewall

Load Balancer Images:
The Loadbalancer.org Virtual Appliance

Hercules Load Balancer Virtual Appliance

Web Server Only Images:
Apache Appliance

Database Only Images:
MySQL Database Server
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition Virtual Appliance
PostgreSQL Database Server

Mail Server Images:
MailEdge Enterprise Messaging Server 2.0
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Virtual Appliance

Network Attached Storage:
FreeNAS

VOIP Image:
Asterisk-Skypho 0.9.1
PBXware - IP-PBX Phone System
VoIPonCD - an easy to configure Voice over IP PBX

Additional Points of Interest:

Network firewalls

Virtual machines are not protected by any firewall software on the host operating system. The reason for this is that the virtual machines are essentially connected to the network at layer 2 while most conventional firewalls operate at layer 3 or higher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). As such virtual machines should always have appropriate fire walling software enabled. If your guest operating system does not have firewall software readily handy (or you do not want to install a software firewall in the guest operating system) using Shared Networking under Virtual PC (as opposed to connecting the virtual machine directly to the network) will gain you a modicum of network security as - like with most NAT routing solutions - external network entities will be unable to communicate directly with your virtual machine. source

Additional Articles

Virtual PC Guy’s WebLog : Network Load Balancing (NLB) and virtual machines

Network Load Balancing scenarios that are supported for use with Virtual Server 2005 R2

How to build an ISA firewall lab with Virtual PC 2004

Setting Up A Virtual Pc “complex” Network

Microsoft.com: Securing Virtual Server

Parallels has agreed in honor of the 1st birthday of x86Virtualization to offer a Free $15.00 iTunes gift card to anyone who purchases Parallels Desktop for the Mac between now and December 27th. If you are looking for Parallels Workstation, they are going to throw in a free copy of Compressor Workstation with every purchase of workstation. Visit Parallels for these Special Exclusive Offers from x86Virtualization.com

This has been a big year, 1 year ago today the domain was registered and a simple blog with big dreams was setup. It like all great things started out slowly, and has gained a considerable momentum ever since. The site has taken off slowly, with some great milestones, including the 200 Feedburner subscribers and 1000 visitors in a single day.

There are a few companies I would like to thank for making this all possible, in no particular order:
Wordpress.org, for building the best opensource blog platform. Site: http://www.wordpress.org/
Godaddy.com, for providing rock solid hosting and support for x86. Site: http://www.GoDaddy.com/

Google.com, for providing a ton of a quality traffic and visitors, Site: http://www.Google.com/

These are few services, which are free or almost free which I have used over the past year:
Stumbleupon, great way to get people to see new posts Site: http://www.StumbleUpon.com/
MyBlogLog, easy way to build up a community around x86, Site: http://www.mybloglog.com/ (Note: Bought by Yahoo)
Feedburner, easiest way of keeping track of feed readers, Site: http://www.feedburner.com/ (Note: Bought by Google)
Google Analytics, quick simple site visitor tracking, Site: http://www.google.com/analytics/

These are a few services which have made this blog monetarily worthwhile:
Google Adsense, Commission Junction, Text Link Ads, Review Me, Linkshare, Regnow.com

Here are a Few figures from the past year:

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