How can I access one desktop session from another on the same machine?

Posted by d3vid on Ask Ubuntu See other posts from Ask Ubuntu or by d3vid
Published on 2012-03-27T13:22:28Z Indexed on 2012/03/28 11:42 UTC
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remote-desktop

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localhost

I want to run a desktop session as user A, and from that session access a different desktop session as user B. This way I can test, screencast or share my screen from session B, while having access to apps/resources in session A that I do not want running/visible in session B. What application can I do this with?

I assume some kind of a remote desktop client/server is what I'm looking for. So far I have tried:

VNC. Logged in as user A and user B. In session B run Desktop Sharing. Switched to session A. Tried to access share with Remmina. Failed. (Can get image to appear but it's frozen.)
x2go. Installed server and client from stable PPA (needed a workaround for installation to succeed). Created a connection which starts then fails instantly. Discovered mailing list post suggesting that accessing localhost is not supported.
On the non-remote front: VirtualBox. Created a minimal virtual machine for session B. Too resource heavy.

Am I attempting the impossible? Should I be looking for something other than a remote desktop tool?

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