After I resolved to adopt Linux, my confidence grew slowly but surely. Security-oriented considerations were compelling enough to convince me to switch, but I soon discovered many more advantages to the Linux desktop.

For those still unsure about making the transition, or those who have done so but may not know everything their system can do, I'll showcase here some of the Linux desktop's advantages.

You Can't Beat Free!

First and foremost, Linux is literally free. Neither the operating system nor any of the programs you run will cost you a dime. Beyond the obvious financial benefit of getting software for free, Linux allows users to be free by affording access to the basic tools of modern computer use -- such as word processing and photo editing -- which otherwise might be unavailable due to the cost barrier.

Microsoft Office, which sets the de facto standard formats for documents of nearly every kind, demands a US$70 per year subscription. However, you can run LibreOffice for free while still handling documents in all the same formats with ease.

Free software also gives you the chance to try new programs, and with them new ways of pursuing business and leisure, without their prospective costs forcing you to make a commitment.

Instead of painstakingly weighing the merits of Mac or Windows and then taking a leap of faith, you can consider a vast spectrum of choices offered by hundreds of distributions -- basically, different flavors of Linux -- by trying each in turn until you find the one that's right for you.

Linux can even save money on hardware, as some manufacturers -- notably Dell -- offer a discount for buying a computer with Linux preinstalled. They can charge less because they don't have to pass on the cost of licensing Windows from Microsoft.

You Can Make It Your Own

There is practically nothing in Linux that can't be customized. Among the projects central to the Linux ecosystem are desktop environments -- that is, collections of basic user programs and visual elements, like status bars and launchers, that make up the user interface.

Some Linux distributions come bundled with a desktop environment. Ubuntu is paired with the Unity desktop, for example. Others, such as with Debian, give you a choice at installation. In either case, users are free to change to any one they like.

Most distributions officially support (i.e., vouch for compatibility) dozens of the most popular desktops, which makes finding the one you like best that much simpler. Within the pantheon of desktops, you can find anything from glossy modern interfaces like KDE Plasma or Gnome, to simple and lightweight ones like Xfce and MATE. Within each of these, you can personalize your setup further by changing the themes, system trays and menus, choosing from galleries of other users' screens for inspiration.

The customization possibilities go well beyond aesthetics. If you prize system stability, you can run a distribution like Mint, which offers dependable hardware support and ensures smooth updates.

On the other hand, if you want to live on the cutting edge, you can install an OS like Arch Linux, which gives you the latest update to each program as soon as developers release it.

If you'd rather take the middle path and stick with a stable foundation while running a few programs on the bleeding edge, you can download the source code -- that is, the code files written by the program's developers -- and compile them yourself. That requires running the source code through a utility to translate them into files of 1s and 0s (called "binaries") for your computer to execute.

The Linux system is yours to tweak in whatever ways work best for you.

Lock It Down

This versatility lends itself well to a third major advantage to Linux: security.

To start with, while there are viruses for Linux, the number pales in comparison even to those for Mac. More importantly, the fact that the code for the core OS framework is open source -- and thus transparent to evaluation -- means there are fewer vulnerabilities in your basic system.

While proprietary (i.e., non-open source) OSes sometimes are criticized as maliciously compromising user security, they pose just as great a threat due to poorly implemented, opaque processes.

For instance, lots of Windows computers by default do not check the cryptographic signatures -- the mathematically guaranteed seals of authenticity -- on OS updates.

With Linux, you can implement as much fine-grained control over signature checking as you choose, and the major distributions enforce safe default settings. This kind of accountability arises directly from the transparency of Linux's open source development model.

Rolling release distributions like Arch add even more security, as critical patches are available almost as soon as they are approved. You would be hard-pressed to find a single mainstream OS more »

One of the biggest disappointments at this year's Mobile World Congress, which opened Monday, is that the Samsung Galaxy 8 phone won't make it. The phone's official launch is scheduled for March 29.

The Galaxy line has been the ultimate iPhone fighter. Rumors around the anniversary edition of the iPhone suggest that it will do amazing, magical things, like 3D selfies. (OK, I'm really missing Steve Jobs at the moment -- who the hell wants 3D selfies?!?)

Missing the biggest historical alternative is keeping a lot of us home this week. Still LG, Motorola, Lenovo and Qualcomm are expected to make huge announcements that could result in the iPhone 8 looking a tad out of date when it finally launches later in the year.

I'll share some observations on what they have in store and close with my product of the week: a new PC camera from Logitech that enables Microsoft Hello on laptops and desktop PCs that otherwise wouldn't support it. (When it works, Microsoft Hello is actually pretty cool.

Gigabit Wireless

Some of this stuff we can anticipate just from Qualcomm launches. Perhaps the biggest of late is the Qualcomm X20 Modem. This part is likely to dominate the high-end phones announced at MWC and for good reason. It isn't that it provides a maximum throughput of 1.2 gigabits -- while impressive, that would just blow out our data plans -- but that it uses carrier aggregation that increases overall data speeds by 2x or better.

This means you'll have a far better chance of syncing your mail or downloading a book, movie or big file during the last minutes before the flight attendant forces you to put hour phone in airplane mode. It also means that cloud-based services likely will work much better on your phones, which will open up the door for things like...

Cloud-Based Artificial Intelligence

Let's not kid ourselves -- services like Siri suck. We've been waiting for some time for Apple's partnership with IBM to result in a far better, Watson-like personal assistant. However, the richer the service, the less likelihood it can run on the phone, and the more it needs significant battery life.

If you really want a powerful artificial intelligence experience on the phone, you need both a powerful cloud-based AI and enough bandwidth to make the thing work, so expect some interesting, and far more powerful, cloud-based services announced this week.

Watson may be a stretch -- though I doubt it -- but the vastly improved Google Assistant is expected to be displayed on a far wider number of phones this year. So, one way or another, the new smartphones are likely to become a ton smarter.

LG Steps Into Samsung's Space

With the Galaxy 8 delayed, LG is expected to step into Samsung's space with a stunning new phone that is mostly hardened glass. I expect Corning, which makes Gorilla Glass, will be especially pleased.

This phone is expected to have mostly screen (tiny metal borders), the most advanced camera system to date, and a ton of performance-based features, and it could well be the phone to lust after. Leaked images suggest it may be one of the most beautiful phones ever created. Apple will not be pleased.

BlackBerry's Move

BlackBerry is expected to showcase its Project Mercury at the show (the company teased it at CES this year). It's the last BlackBerry-designed phone, and the company is going out with a bang.

I've seen pictures of it floated on the Web, and it appears to be the best blend of a keyboard and screen phone yet. As BlackBerry phones have been for some time, it is Android-based, but it's hardened and surprisingly pretty.

This is likely the phone that President Trump should carry, as he has been getting chastised for his apparent use of his non-secure aging Android phone. With Mercury, he could power-tweet far better than on any screen-only phone. Hmm, come to think of it, maybe we should keep him away from keyboard phones...

This phone is supposed to have a lot of the same technology as the Google Pixel, but with a keyboard and security. It's on my own personal lust list.

Huawei Pixel

Rumor is that Huawei will be building the next Google Pixel phone. These phones tend to be technology showcases for Android, and Huawei has been doing surprisingly well in this space of late, though mostly in Asia.

All we seem to know is that it will sport some interesting new metallic colors, and it will showcase what you can do with Android if you pull out all the stops. Improvements in camera, features, battery life and charging, as well as a stronger connection to Google's cloud services, all should be anticipated.

Samsung Tablet

While the new Galaxy 8 is expected to miss the show, Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 3 is expected to make it. This should be the most feature-rich tablet in the market when it launches (although Lenovo may give it a run for its money).

Samsung is rumored to have cornered the market in Qualcomm's most advanced Snapdragon  more »

A new tool is available to check the persistent harassment of online trolls. Google's Jigsaw think tank last week launched Perspective, an early stage technology that uses machine learning to help neutralize trolls.

Perspective reviews comments and scores them based on their similarity to comments people have labeled as toxic, or that are likely to result in someone leaving a conversation.

Publishers can select what they want to do with the information Perspective provides to them. Their options include the following:

Flagging comments for their own moderators to review;
Providing tools to help users understand the potential toxicity of comments as they write them; and
Letting readers sort comments based on their likely toxicity.

Forty-seven percent of 3,000 Americans aged 15 or older reported experiencing online harassment or abuse, according to a survey Data & Society conducted last year. More 70 percent said they had witnessed online harassment or abuse.

Perspective got its training through an examination of hundreds of thousands of comments labeled by human reviewers who were asked to rate online comments on a scale from "very toxic" to "very healthy."

Its potential to be used as a tool for censorship is concerning, he suggested.

"We already know that the Left and Right are getting very different news feeds, [and Perspective] could further exacerbate this problem because people often view other world views as hostile, false and toxic," Enderle told TechNewsWorld. "As this technology matures, it could effectively ensure that you only see what you agree with."

Further, "getting around systems like this with creative spelling isn't that difficult," he maintained.

Perspective "really doesn't address the core problem, which is that trolls are largely unpunished and seem to gain status," Enderle said.

Perspective likely is not very sophisticated when it comes to context or sensitivity, said Michael Jude, a program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

"What one person might consider to be toxic, another might not -- and this is contextual," he told TechNewsWorld.

Further, "an AI system lacks common sense, so there's significant potential for unexpected consequences," Jude said. Further, implicit bias "is a significant danger."

Perspective's Utility for Social Media

Twitter has been hit particularly hard by online trolls. Perspective might prove helpful in its battles against online abusers "if it actually works," said Jude.

However, Twitter would have to "admit that their service isn't a bastion of free speech," he added.

Clamping down on comments viewed subjectively as online abuse is a form of censorship, said Jude, and it raises the question of what "public forum" really means.

"If a social media site isn't truly an open public forum, then it shouldn't pretend to be," he argued.

Sites that restrict comments should warn that all posts will be reviewed to ensure they meet community standards, said Jude. If they don't wish to undertake such a review, they should post a warning on the landing page: "Beware all ye who enter here." more »