Stumbling Through Classic "Type," "Creator," and General File Confusion

Question

I have been searching the Internet trying to make sense of some Classic nonsensical (to me) inconsistencies between the information in the Get Info panels for the files and the "Type" and "Creator" headings as shown in HexEdit. One of the articles I read online was this one:
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/2q00/macos-qna/macos-x-qa-2.html
After reading that I sort of understand that the Finder is supposed to assign apps to documents based by using a sort of logical process. But here is the problem, which exists throughout the System Folder/Extensions Folder and elswhere such as the System Folder/Preferences folder:
I'll use just one example. "Apple Packet Media Access" is an Extension. "Get Info" says it is an "Internet Document," to be opened by the "Internet" application. But if I open it in HexEdit, the header of the HexEdit document lists the "Type" as "thng," and the creator as "ufox." The text portion of HexEdit also says that "The Apple Packet Media Access extension is required for mounting Packet-Written data CDs on your computer." Clearly this has nothing to do with the "Internet" app, and therefore the Get Info box is wrong. This is just one example of many extensions (and other files in the System Folder) that are incorrectly associated with an application.
My problem is that in order to "cure" this problem by selecting "other" in the "Open With" dialog box, I have to select an application. And what application should I select to open "Apple Packet Media Access?" OR, is this not a document at all, but rather an application?
How is an ignorant user like myself to determine which is the correct app to open a document which is clearly associated with an incorrect app?
Or should I even care? I wouldn't care, except for other problems I am having between Classic and older programs.

Answer 1

At times, since the transition from OS 9.2.2 to OS X 10.0 ~ 10.5 versions I have
looked into the OS 9 system (in non-dual-boot iMac running Tiger 10.4.11) and
have managed to get more information than via OS X 'get info' and had done
this by having more than just the OS9 app open in Classic, under OS X control.
There is a way (but do not have the time to delve back into retracing my steps)
to use more of OS 9.2 even in Classic, where you can't really use OS 9 Finder.
And it is the OS 9 Finder that actually gave you access to most OS 9's goods.
OS X does not have anything quite like the Finder as arrived at by OS 9.1.
And when you need to have certain things working in OS 9, it is better to try
and have all those items of the same era; as limited as it can be compared
to the fully functional OS X system, or the Classic9 running under OS X.
The applications for OS 9 that can be seen as Classic compatible say Classic
in the Get Info window of X; some will work anyway but not fully supported.
For the real deal, in other instances on these discussions, it has been suggested
to get an older Mac running native OS 9.2.2 and have that separate from OS X.
As I had mentioned before, the OS X ability to say what an OS 9 part may run
with is only referenced from the point of view of OS X; it may string together a
path to run something or another using Classic to control OS 9 System + Apps.
But that is a far cry from the actual meal deal of OS 9.2.2 seeing its own content.
There are groups of OS 9.2.2 & Before users out there and perhaps you should
contact them for more information on gaining further insight into Classic controls.
{With Classic9 running under OS X, often with extensions off or very reduced,
any reference to what resources are being used would be clouded by a real
lack of content; so OS X would be having to do a backward compatible duty.}
PS: I have a nice and clean iMac G4 17" 800MHz dual-boot computer with
SuperDrive, 1024MB RAM, airport card, 80GB HDD; incl. speakers, mouse
keyboard, power cord and OS X 10.4. Too bad you aren't closer to here...!
Good luck & happy computing!