When I'm at Ubuntu's GDM login screen, from the "Options" menu, I can choose "Select Session", choosing between Gnome, KDE, or XFCE. But what if I'm only interested in running a certain Virtual Machine?
Oftentimes, all I'm interested in is using a particular Virtual Machine (from VMware Workstation/Player, or Virtualbox). It feels like overkill to log into Gnome (taking up considerable RAM and CPU on weaker computers), just so that I can, in turn, launch a Virtual Machine in VMware or Virtualbox (and then go "full-screen", which hides Gnome anyway).
It should be possible that VMware Workstation/Player, and/or Virtualbox be choices in the "Select Session" dialog of GDM. That is to say, VMware/Virtualbox should behave, and be treated like "Desktop Environments" (in their own right) as far as GDM is concerned. Each of these Virtualization Softwares could be thought of as a "Desktop Environment proxy" because the VMs that they run contain their own equivalent of a Desktop Environment.
This would be a great feature whenever multiple people use the same computer, but some obstinate people may ONLY want to use a Windows VM (directly after logging in), while others want to log into a traditional "Desktop Environment" like Gnome. In this way, a stubborn Windows user who does not want to learn Ubuntu can still be cajoled into using an Ubuntu computer, since they can still easily use a Windows VM, never having to learn how to use Gnome (or KDE, etc.).
This would be a far better option than having a computer being "dual-boot" between Windows and Ubuntu. By using this method described, whenever a Windows VM is in use, the Ubuntu box can still be:
-SSH'ed into remotely for system maintenance
-logged into remotely over XDMCP
-files can remotely transferred in and out using SCP or samba, etc.
The "Ubuntu-ness" of the host machine ("underneath" the Windows VM) would also make the computer more secure (less prone to viruses, etc.), if "NAT" networking is used within a given Windows VM.
Kiss dual-booting goodbye, when this brainstorm comes to fruition!
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