The problem is not just apps that haven't been updated. Every time I bring files to my Mac from a Windows or Unix system, that do not end in .txt, the Finder & Spotlight treat them like unix executables, so they do not get indexed. I can use Get Info to set the default application, or drag them to an app's icon in the Dock, but until there's a way to assign the concept of "TYPE", then things remain broken. I can't use "Open with ..." without going through the file selection dialog box and (most importantly), the files will not appear in any OS searches (Spotlight, Finder Window Toolbar or Sidebar Saved-Searches) because the content will not be index, because the system doesn't know they're TEXT files. In all the articles I've read, there's no mention of an official API to set UTI data.

And adding .txt, .html, etc. is not a viable option. It would seriously break the systems that these text files come from.

Ray