o err is human. Distinctly human. This is because homo sapiens were designed within the confines of the "planned obsolescence" philosophy. They are not only flawed, but by design, unable to avoid introducing errors into whatever actions they perform. While The Inhuman is not subject to these limitations, he does occasionally take pity on those who are and honor them with his aid.

I am John Ominor, The Inhuman. Today, The Inhuman examines a possible solution to the human problem of accidental file deletion in the form of File Phoenix v1.21.

This freeware application is one IBM employee's response to a classic inadequacy in OS/2 Warp's file management scheme. The Inhuman refers, of course, to OS/2's UNDELETE function. It would be beneath Ominor to explain the various shortcomings of OS/2's built-in UNDELETE function; suffice to say, were The Inhuman as limited and mistake-prone as most humans are, he would find this facility a source of extreme worry.

Fear not. Servitor Joe DiAdamo, one of IBM's best no doubt, has created an undelete replacement in order to allow OS/2 Warp to better serve John Ominor.

As you can see, File Phoenix, commonly known as Fenx, consists of one main window (GIF, 10.6k).

Any savvy OS/2 user will master File Phoenix in a matter of seconds. The rest of you may be required to peruse the somewhat concise help system.

Unlike with the limited FAT file system, used by lesser mortals, before a deleted file can be retrieved on an HPFS disk, the sectors must first be scanned. This process can be quite time-consuming, depending on the speed and size of the hard disk. However, this is where the power of OS/2 is evident, allowing one to utilize this program, while attending to other tasks. Be warned, however, that disk activities, in OS/2's priority scheduling, are usually high and may impact the system in a variety of ways, ranging from negligible to severe.

Regardless, a status bar will display the percentage of the partition remaining while a rather odd animation of a flying fowl will amaze and delight all. If File Phoenix manages to find your missing data, which it sometimes fails to do, it does an adequate job of restoring files and rectifying mistakes. This is accomplished from a pop-up menu activated by right-clicking or double clicking on an entry in the list of deleted files.

So, what does this mean to John Ominor? Absolutely nothing. But for mortal users, File Phoenix provides a free, if imperfect method of supplicating or outright replacing OS/2's normal UNDELETE function. However, it would be wise to test this application before it becomes necessary and determine its usefulness in your specific situation.

With deletion and eradication on his mind, Ominor must address a more serious situation which has attracted his attention. Comp.os.os2.advocacy is under siege. As the release date of OS/2 Merlin draws nigh, dark forces gather in this venerable newsgroup.

Sowers of the Unholy Three of the Usenet -- Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt -- have always run rampant with The Inhuman's at least tacit approval, but now they go too far. The Inhuman believes that controversy is a healthy and needed component of any civilized discussion, however supported contention in Comp.os.os2.advocacy has steadily eroded to be replaced with unfounded assumptions. This must cease.

While Ominor could easily remove all offenders with dispatch he never uses a hammer when a scalpel will suffice. Obviously, the Windows advocates who currently infest Comp.os.os2.advocacy, instead of gravitating to more appropriate arenas, are the victims of some hitherto unknown malady. A virus? Unlikely due to the fact that most active Windows advocates are not within close proximity of each other. Surely insanity is the more plausible cause, but we must determine whether their sickness is purely physical or mental in nature.

So many questions to answer... John Ominor invites all to journey with The Inhuman as he delves deeper into this mystery. But before he can solve this puzzle, Ominor must have one, perhaps two subjects to study...

John Ominor, The Inhuman invites you to visit FORTRESS Ominor as he investigates this unfortunate condition for the enlightenment and entertainment of all...

File Phoenix v1.21

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