Here’s the Deal

Tilix vs VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator

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When comparing Tilix vs VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator, the Slant community recommends Tilix for most people. In the question“What are the best terminal emulators for Windows?” Tilix is ranked 22nd while VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator is ranked 31st. The most important reason people chose Tilix is:

In addition to tiling, Tilix supports placing separate sessions in tabs or switching from one to another through a sidebar.

Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking

Common Questions

What are the best terminal emulators for Windows?

Pros

Pro
Multiple sessions inside a single window

In addition to tiling, Tilix supports placing separate sessions in tabs or switching from one to another through a sidebar.

Pro
Tiling makes for ease of use

The user can split terminals horizontally or vertically, according to their needs or preferences.

Pro
Integrates nicely into GNOME 3

Tilix follows the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines and uses the UI patterns of this desktop environment.

Pro
Good alternative to Terminator

Tiling and ability to type into multiple terminals simultaneously is Terminator's 2 most significant features. Tilix has them as well.

Pro
Configurable shortcuts

Many actions in Tilix can be triggered with configurable shortcuts.

Pro
GNOME Human Interface Guidelines

Tilix follows GNOME HIG whereas gnome-terminal doesn't. GNOME should use Tilix as their default terminal.

Pro
Transparent background

Unlike the standard GNOME Terminal, Tilix supports configurable background transparency.

Pro
Fancy looks

Tilix has that new GNOME look, with a HeaderBar. It can also be disabled.

Pro
Able to write into multiple terminals simultaneously

Inside a session, you can select multiple terminals, which will receive the same input simultaneously.

Pro
Can be used as a drop-down terminal

The new 1.30 version of Tilix supports a quake mode enabling it to work as a drop-down terminal.

Pro
Extremely fast

As fast as gnome-terminal, if not faster.

Pro
Copy on select

Pro
Faster than Gnome Terminal

When running commands it feels snappier.

Pro
Easy

Pro
Copy as HTML

You can copy text from the terminal as HTML for embedding in web settings.

Pro
Lightweight

Pro
Solarized themes built-in

Great support for solarized color schemes, and no setup is involved.

Pro
Terminus can notify you about finished tasks and perform actions based on terminal output

Pro
Runs Pre-configured virtual machines

Allows you to run your virtual machines pre-configured by you or others.

Virtual Box versions for:
-- Windows 7/8/10
-- All Linux installations
-- MAC OS x
-- Solaris 10/11

Virtual OSs include:
-- Oracle Linux 5/6/7.x (RHEL clones)
-- Solaris10/11
-- Occassionally a Windows Beta

Oracle itself provides many free VMs, pre-configured with various software stacks and hands-on lab materials for learning, geared toward. These have helped me earn three of my Oracle certifications:

-- Oracle Database development
-- Oracle DBA
-- MySQL development
-- Java Standard/Enterprise development
-- Big data
-- Webcenter portal & others

Pre-installed software in or more of the various stacks includes:
-- Oracle Database 11/12
-- JDK/Eclipse
-- Enterprise Mgr
-- MySQL
-- WebLogic
-- Cloudera, etc.

Pro
Supports modern shells

Whether you prefer zsh, bash, or fish, Linux will support it.

Pro
Isolated from Windows

VirtualBox provides almost total isolation from Windows running underneath it, removing a lot of security issues.

Pro
Free / Libre Software

While the OS underneath it is proprietary and does spy on you or actively violate your freedom, so to speak, you can still have a little piece of mind knowing that VirtualBox (your Linux distro and shell of choice) as well as Terminator are all FOSS.