be sure ! the best db for larg db with more than 40,000,000 records is oracel ! like : facebook.com google.com twitter.com and ....but for smaller than this : sqloracel is very fast and aql is very easy! so better to use sql.
how can i chang extention to each other ? for example how a program written bye vb can convert a gif file to jpg, or other ? this is project for my teacher i have to done.
why you don't spend a little time for trying opera ? i guess you will like it for ever! it's fast, user friendly and professional ! also see : portal.opera.com "I grew up with Internet Explorer" do you mean IE is a Browser?
i think phpbb, for easy to install, use, popularity. as you know this is the first for first time. but smf not very popular, although may be better than php