I picked up the USB-BDM module for use with a 9S12 design where I previously was using the BDM-Multilink that hooks on the LPT port. It works, but it's a pain in that I have to give up an LPT port, and in the fact that on XP systems there's an undocumented 'poll' that can take place on the LPT port that messes things up. Not that big a deal, as Metrowerks had a registry change that fixed that, but it wasn't just a matter of moving the pod to a different machine.
The reason I mention it is that the new USB-BDM pod is under $100 on the Freescale web site bundled with CW3.1SW for both the 12 and the 08 processors. They bundle the 08 code since the USB-BDM supposedly supports MON08 for the 08 parts. Well, mostly. I'm using the KX08 in one of my designs, and oops, no go. I did upgrade my developement for the KX08 part to the latest CW just to have a single base for my developement tools, and the LPT based MON08-Multilink works find on it. (With that registry patch on XP machines, of course)
So, if you're choosing what chip to use for a design, check it out carefully as to what is applicable. I would love to have had the power of the BDM to do my 08 project. As it was, the MON08 was ok, but I was spoiled by what I did with the 9S12. My 08 project works fine, but I had to do some 'tricks' with the design. I ended up with a PCB the size of a credit card that has a 'card edge' on one end. I plug in the board into a .156" socket to program it, pull the card out, then solder a jumper on the board to put it into use. (I had to play a few games with how I did the interface to make it work. By the way, it's a 'POCSAG encoder board that takes 'packets' from a serial port then interfaces directly to a radio for paging)