Creator codes make a comeback in Snow Leopard with LaunchCodes

Ben, I'm not sure what you are saying, but I can tell you that LaunchCodes looks at the target file metadata to see if the file has a creator code. If so, it opens the file in that app; otherwise it opens the file in the default app. This is very different from opening all files with a particular extension in the same app. With LaunchCodes, two files having the same extension but different creator codes will open in different apps; without LaunchCodes, they open in the same app.

But LaunchCodes takes input in the form of file extensions. How is that any different than telling the Finder to open all files with a particular extensions with a particular application? If LaunchCodes truly brought back creator code functionality, and if creator codes are still in the metadata (not the file extension), then it would ask for applications that created files so to tell the Finder with which application to open each file.

Haven't moved to 10.6 yet, and between this stupid ditching of creator code functionality and disastrous abandonment of PostScript Type 1 fonts, I'm in no hurry. (More commentary on the creator code boondoggle by John Gruber:
http://daringfireball.net/2009/10/congrtlns-osx)

So I haven't tried it yet, but there is also another third-party solution for this problem, SLOpen:
http://chuchusoft.com/SLopen/index.html

Not clear to me how it differs from this one, other than being free.

I still use Leopard as I did not have time for upgrading. I am considering to upgrade to SnowLeopard now as I have free time during Christmas.

Is the upgrade worth ?? - I mean $30 is cool, but the issues with SLeopard. Like a memory leak discovered, etc.

I'm a Mac switcher myself and kinda new to this, but wouldn't that app do the same job as the free Default Apps preferences pane?