I'll try to answer some of the questions raised here. Try to hang with me as virtualization is sometimes difficult to explain.
A little background: A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a complete "computer" that's running in the cloud. If you are familiar with RDP (Remote Desktop) or even LogMeIn and GoToMyPC, you use it to connect to remote computers (both physical and virtual). In the case of a VPS, the Windows or Linux system is running on special hardware so the whole computer is virtualized. I won't get into the details of that, but think of a VPS like an application on your own computer. You can launch several applications at the same time on your computer. That's the same as a virtual computer...multiple virtual systems can be running on the same physical hardware. I know it's confusing, but fortunately you don't have to understand that part to use it.
So, a virtual computer (or VPS) is just like having a second computer you can use. You can install and run any program you like (of course only Windows applications run on Windows VPSs and Linux with Linux). You install them yourself, just like you would on your personal computer. The things you need to watch out for on a VPS are your assigned resources (CPU, RAM, and bandwidth primarily). It's easy to find a VPS with 512MB of RAM, but that may not be enough to run the applications you have in mind. Since the VPS is just another computer, you need to match the VPS specs with the application requirements. For example, if an application requires 2GB of RAM, make sure your VPS has at least that much.
The beauty of a VPS is that it can run 24/7 and you don't need a new computer sitting at your house. It's great for running applications that run a LONG time.
Let me know if you have any additional questions or would like more detail in virtualization. I've done a lot of work with virtualization and it's one of my favorite technologies.
Cheers!
