I wanted to throw a shout-out to a software package called Xming X Server. I have been using this nifty piece of software to access the Gnome desktop of our corporate Linux servers from the comfort of my Windows based laptop. Xmind does this my running a XServer under Windows, and using a customized version of Putty to forward all the X packets across a SSH connection. Even on Internet connection, the performance is very acceptable, and when on a local LAN, it approaches native speed.
A limited version of Xming has been released into the public domain, but throw Mr Colin Harrison £10 and he will send you an unencumbered version. I am interested to hear from other folks who are using a Windows XServer to connect to a Linux or Mac.