if you use an ide you can do something similar, but use the vm client directly. i do this all the time, and virtualbox's seamless mode means that you can mix windows from client and host on the same screen (except ubuntu unity?).
it's particularly good when different clients have different OSs. and you can even do hardware development - i have tested usb drivers in a vm client that talk to hardware connected to the host.
the only drawback is initial startup time (particularly pulling latest updates after install) and archiving the vms (they're large, so fill up a laptop ssd). i export to ovas on my backup system and then wipe the vm. another worry is that virtualbox has been flakey recently (http://www.acooke.org/cute/VirtualBox1.htmlhttp://www.acooke.org/cute/UbuntuonVi0.html) - but ovas can be imported into other hosts...
it's particularly good when different clients have different OSs. and you can even do hardware development - i have tested usb drivers in a vm client that talk to hardware connected to the host.
the only drawback is initial startup time (particularly pulling latest updates after install) and archiving the vms (they're large, so fill up a laptop ssd). i export to ovas on my backup system and then wipe the vm. another worry is that virtualbox has been flakey recently (http://www.acooke.org/cute/VirtualBox1.html http://www.acooke.org/cute/UbuntuonVi0.html) - but ovas can be imported into other hosts...