Virtual Desktops on Windows?
raist_online asks: "After long years of X11 (and recently Mac OS X) I'm now in a job that mandates Windows and uses some Windows-only tools, providing us with XP Pro installs. Using VMWare with dual heads means I can still mostly live in X11-based goodness but I'm really missing a virtual desktop when I have to use Windows. The MS Powertoy doesn't really cut it for me and I've been trying out Cooldesk (some task-bar integration but not behaving well) and altdesk (which is OK but doesn't integrate into the task-bar). I'm really looking for something as simple as the standard X11 pager. Please note that I HAVE to use native Windows for some things so suggestions for Wine / VMWare inside Linux are missing the point. Slashdot, what are your suggestions?"
http://virt-dimension.sourceforge.net/
the power toys - or whatever the junk is from M$ - sucks!
Never really used it, but it might do what you want... http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/
If you've read any reliable reports you will know that the total cost of owership of a MS-based PC is far less than a Linux one. Therefore your company should be able to afford to fit many PCs on your desk and you won't have to use virtual desktops.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I haven't used any myself in quite a while, but there are alternative shells for windows that replace explorer (start menu et al) that are very unixy. I used to use LiteStep, which made it seem a lot like AfterStep. I even had a theme that made it seem kinda' WindowMaker-y (though it was a bit cheesy). I'm not current, don't know what's "the best" these days, but it's a direction you might want to look in to, if you're employers will let you do it.