Planning my website - trying to choose a board

[BrianB]

In order for me to make a decision, I need to try to assess some features and capabilities. I have not worked with vB before, so I honestly do no know how to integrate a website with it...

I understand that vB3 will have multiple calendars, and vB currently supports unlimited forum depth. Big plus for vB!

I asked this at vB.com, and got the feeling that this is a better place to ask...

I do not plan on using an existing portal product, as I want to have my own look and feel... so, are scripts available to pull posts from various sections and display the way I want them to display on my various web pages?

example:
I want to grab the last 10 posts (total, not each) from forums 1,2, and 3 and display in one section of a web page.
Then in another section, display last 5 posts from forum 4.
Then in another section display the next 5 upcoming events from Calendar categegory X

and so on...

How easy is that to do in vB? are there SSI scripts to make these requests? As a reference, I know how this is done on InvisionBoard... they have an ssi.php file, and a hack is available for an enhanced ssi.php system. Is there something similar here?


Next,

I would also like to integrate a review system like the one found at www.bosdev.com called BOSMarket. The nested category, drill down, post links, vendors, product, review, etc. is one thing I am seeking. Is such a hack available here? I did a search for "review", but got too many results to answer this question.


Finally, and again, I have seen a few posts here and there about recommended skiners... but is there one designer that stands out for custom skins?

Thanks!