Avoiding X session duplication - remote working

One problem I have been trying to tackle for a long time now is this:

How can I work on my X-Windows desktop most of the time, and occasionally work from my laptop, without having to close and restart applications whenever I switch from one to the other?

Well, now there is an answer! I found the quite handy x11vnc package. It runs as process on the host whose display you want to make available, and it can do that without needing any changes to the X server. In fact, I installed it on a machine that has been running an X session for days before, and it worked fine. Once it is running, you connect to it from a remote machine using pretty much any VNC viewer (I am partial to TightVNC.

This is really a useful utility. At least, in my work environment, this will make a lot of difference because I will be able to move around the house (and even elsewhere) without needing to worry about applications that are running on my desktop. I can keep XChat and GAIM running, and continue conversations from a different computer.