One thing that I've always missed from Classic was the Launcher (or folder tabs with button icons). Neither the launcher nor folder tabs were perfect and neither is this hint, but they accomplished a task somewhat efficiently: easy access to all applications.
I've found that I like to have single-click access via the Dock to all my applications, but given limited space, that's just not feasible. Navigating the Finder is just too much of a hassle for me. I also liked the way you could categorize applications in the Launcher (or folder tabs with button icons), so I have combined the two concepts with a pair of AppleScripts attached as folder actions.
It works like this. I create a folder analogous to the categories I could make in the old Launcher, and I populate it with aliases to applications. I put this folder in the Dock. I then decide on a default application: an application I want to launch if I click on the folder in the Dock. I then insert the appropriate code into an AppleScript, and attach it as a folder action.
For example, I've created a web browser category with all my web browsers in it, making Safari my default app:
on opening folder this_folder
tell application "Safari"
activate
end tell
end opening folder
I make another script which closes the category folder:
on opening folder this_folder
tell application "Finder"
close front window
end tell
end opening folder
I attach both scripts to the category folder (the 'Close' one first, then the one that opens Safari). I then edit the folder icon to look like the Safari icon, and I'm done.
Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20060126112438371