What's the best way to run a Linux virtual server in Windows 7?

Question

I need a virtual server for web development, it'll host Apache+Postgres+Ruby+something else.

1. What's the most effective software to run such a server? (ie with least virtualization overhead)

2. Is there a way to run Linux as as service?

I use VirtualBox at the moment, but it's inconvenient in some ways, such as it needs an emulator window open which also captures keyboard input when alttabbed into.

(Also, coLinux hangs at boot on my machine, so it's probably not an option)

Answer 1

Check out the features of VMWare Server. It's free, you just have to register.