Since I deal mainly with Linux servers (Red Hat) VMware has been more and more of a headache for me because of this dependence on Windows. Plus having our VMware stuff locked down also causes headaches. But I need test Linux VMs. Lately I'm using kvm A LOT and I really love it. It completely rocks.

Something similar can be found in both VMware (vmxnet 2/3 adapter) and KVM (virtio paravirtualized adapters).

I just went through something similar. For me it was back surgery. Hospital sent letter saying it cost 27K. I got billed about 2K. No way I could have come up with 27K. It totally sucks. So grateful I have insurance. (For now)

Here is something scary I experienced...

My ex GF was kicked off medicaid because her son turned 18 or 19.(Can't remember exactly which) About 3 months into dating her. She is still now trying to get on SSI, which will automatically get her back on medicaid, because she says she can't work ever again. But for now she is employed under the table sometimes and in and out of mental institutions. So she just goes to the emergency room a lot and throws away the bills. Her teeth are rotting out. No insurance. Its sad that the state won't help her (N.C) but I also wasn't going to stick around for her decent into crazyness. I gave this woman thousands of dollars paying her rent and buying her food. In return she attacked me one day and lost out on my support system after that. Her Mom does help her some with work. I only dated this woman for like a year. Its not like we were married or something... When I first met her she had a job / seemed normal. But then she got fired. I guess shes been having mental problems long before I met her. Through all this the state pays for therapy and meds for her Psychiatric care. To you know, keep her out of the underfunded mental hospitals. But not for like, say cancer or an infection in her mouth. Um.. Why? In some states like North Carolina you are fucked if you need the safety net though... I think shes been denied 3 times for SSI. I NEVER knew it was this bad...

On the other hand... Check this page out:

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/the_terrible_awful_truth_about_1.html

I've seen some people in that same apt. complex totally game the system. But I guess they had no choice.

I've recently started using KVM as a desktop virtualization solution. On CentOS 5.5 and RHEL 6.0 Its pretty damn awesome imho. You can use virt-v2v to convert older VMs to newer VMs. Also can convert VMware VMs though I have not done that. I am using KVM to lean more about different Linux distros besides Red Hat. I have 4 VM's always running on my desktop at work (RHEL 6) as test boxes and I don't notice that much of a slowdown. I give a huge thumbs up to KVM. I have to use VMware at work but KVM is a better Linux solution for me. No rdesktop to a stupid windows box to run viclient for 1 example.

Sometimes I have had to change network from virtio to E1000 for some Linux flavors to get network to work but in general it just "works." I never got into Xen though. I gather the commands are similar. (virsh start domainname, virt-manager, etc.)

I just started using nx technology (freenx, nx, and the No Machine client) about a year ago and I absolutely depend on it. I find it better to remote into a Linux box to work rather than use rdesktop to a windows session. And then have to use xwin32 + putty with some windows crap which is just a shitty experience... I am using an EVDO modem (like from a cell phone company) and either rdesktop or NX are the only things that are fast enough to be usable for GUI type apps with my network connection from my personal experience. NX seems quite a bit faster then even rdesktop to windows... I am sad they are closing the source. Hopefully the freenx stuff will continue to work for a few years.

And for the people who say "Just use a browser, dumbass!" I'd love to do that or just use CLI type apps via ssh but sometimes it isn't an option. Sometimes the customer wants their backup and you are on the road or home sick and you have to launch some X windows app to do that because the company you work for bought a proprietary app to do that with and you have to use the X Windows GUI... and it has to be launched on some specific fileserver. I admit these kind of things are rare but the NX stuff is just awesome for that kind of situation.

I use OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 on CentOS 5. It does take a bit of time to launch the first time you run it in a session, like 10-15 seconds. But running it again it only takes 3-4 seconds to start. Sometimes less. The startup time doesn't bother me. My dad can view weird PP slides everyone emails him in O.O. 3.1.1 on a similar CentOS 5 system I set up for him.

O.O. is way more word processor and spreadsheet than I will ever need. All my personal word processing / spreadsheet documents are stored in od* files. I add that version (3.1.1) to several RHEL 5 Linux labs at N.C.S.U. university and a LOT of students run it every day. Maybe it runs like crap on Windows which is why so many people are dissing it on this site? Or maybe people remember older versions? Or people "HAVE" to have it load instantly? I admit I don't use Office or Windows so I am biased in that respect. Still, I think Microsoft should be worried about the younger future customers. And the price was awesome. If Oracle wants to make money off of it I guess they should charge for support of some kind like Sun tried to do.

My Ultra 25 box at work is called slowlaris.
(Its a sun and X is way slow compared to my DELL with NVidia drivers)

My Linux box is named vaporware. I tend to build rpms there. So the name fits I guess.

I like names from the jargon file.