Here is how to install and use PulseAudio on Xubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex.

1. Install packages for PulseAudio
$ sudo apt-get install libasound2-plugins pulseaudio pulseaudio-esound-compat pulseaudio-module-gconf pulseaudio-module-hal pulseaudio-module-lirc pulseaudio-module-x11 pulseaudio-module-zeroconf pulseaudio-utils paman padevchooser paprefs pavucontrol pavumeter libao-pulse

2. Configure Alsa
Edit the file /etc/asound.conf as root. Create it if it doesn’t exist. Enter the following in this file and save:

pcm.pulse {
    type pulse
}
ctl.pulse {
    type pulse
}
pcm.!default {
    type pulse
}
ctl.!default {
    type pulse
}

3. Add your user account to the pulse groups:

$ sudo gpasswd -a YOURUSERNAME pulse
$ sudo gpasswd -a YOURUSERNAME pulse-access
$ sudo gpasswd -a YOURUSERNAME pulse-rt

4. Configure PulseAudio
Click Applications > Settings > PulseAudio Preferences
On the Network Access tab, check:
– Enable network access to local sound devices
– Allow other machines on the LAN to discover local sound devices
– Don’t require authentication

On the Multicast/RTP tab, check:
– Enable Multicast/RTP receiver
– Enable Multicast/RTP sender

Configure PulseAudio to run as a daemon and allow users to load modules. Edit the file /etc/default/pulseaudio as root.
Change PULSEAUDIO_SYSTEM_START=0 to 1
Change DISALLOW_MODULE_LOADING=1 to 0

Edit the file /etc/libao.conf as root, create it if it doesn’t exist. Enter the following into that file:
default_driver=pulse

Restart your session or reboot to have changes go into effect.

Sources: Ubuntu Wiki, ivotron on Ubuntu Forums, pulseaudio.org

Gnome on Ubuntu comes with an included “Remote Desktop” feature (vino) that allows you to VNC into your existing desktop session (usually on the :0 display). However, XFCE does not have a native VNC package built in. The best option I have found is to use vino, the same VNC app that Gnome uses. Here’s how:

Install vino:
$ sudo apt-get install vino

Configure vino:
$ vino-preferences

Then enter this command in your Autostarted Apps to start vino server:
/usr/lib/vino/vino-server

This works well for me, the only feature I have found that doesn’t work is the “disable wallpaper on remote login” setting.