Urgently need answers to Q's before I get a MacBook

Question

I've been having PMU issues with my 12" iBook G4 and Apple has offered to try and repair it OR replace it with a 13" MacBook. I've been given a week to make up my mind. I'm leaning towards going with the MacBook, but to be honest, I'm concerned about a number of issues.
What is BootCamp and what does it allow me to do?
I find that I still need to use a couple of OS 9 applications (Photoshop4, by choice, Simpletext, also by choice, and Pagemeaker 6.5 Out of necessity until i figure out how to convert my PM files to another program.)
Since Classic/OS9 will not work on the MacBooks, I'm in a quandry.
An Apple employee told me about SheepShaver (an Open Source program) and that it will emulate a PowerPC chip and older OS (system 7 to 9.0.4) on the MacBooks. I downloaded it, but the installation instructions seem to be written for a programmer (I'm NOT). It says I need an original install disk of the OS I want to run (which I have) and a ROM, but give no instruction on whae that is or where to get it. The developer has not returned my emails, and I'm on a time deadline to make my decision (not to mention my iBook keeps blinking out)
Does anyone have experience with, or knowledge of this program, or another workaround for my need for OS 9?
I'm also curious if anyone has specific issues with running older Software using Rosetta, specifically MS Office X (the first version for OS X), Photoshop CS, AOHell (to access files and bookmarks, not to actually log in using it), or Quicken 2003.
And on the topic of reliability (I've heard about the overheating problems for one) HAve they worked out the kinks now in the newer ones? How do I find out when the one I will get was made? How many weeks has it been now since the MacBooks were introduced?
And one more really minor question. I've been offered the Mid-range 13" mAcBook (white, with the superdrive) and I'm thinking of paying the extra $200 to upgrade to the Black one, but for $200 it seems like all I get is 20 more gig of HD space, and a black case! Are here anyother differneces between the two?
I've heard that the black case shows fingerprints and stuff badly ( worse than the white because it's a "matte" finish) and from my experience with my white iBook, It gets pretty dirty quickly and seems to hold the dirt around the edges.
Have they changed the plastics on the White MacBook to help prevent this, or is it the same plastic that was used in the iBooks (it looks the same)
Thanks so much for you patience in reading all this , and for answering all my questions (even if they seem stupid : )
Robert

Answer 1

I'll try to answer a few -
Boot Camp is a boot manager - it's like pressing the option key when you boot so that you can choose which disk to start up from, except that it understands other OS's too. With Boot Camp you can partition your hard drive and install a second operating system on the new partition, and Boot Camp will ask you which one to use each time you start up.
I've used Adobe CS under Rosetta and havent found anything broken yet. Office 2004 works fine, but haven't tried Office X. The others I haven't tried, but I have found occassional wonkiness in other apps under rosetta, so it's definitely worth researching.
I have a week 26 MBP 17", and everything is fine after two weeks. They do run fairly hot if that's a problem for you, even the ones that aren't overheating. I had a Toshiba notebok P4 2ghz that ran hotter and was fine, though, so I think running hot comes with the territory on these.
You can tell what week yours was manufactured in by looking at the 4th and 5th characters in your serial number. The 1st and 2nd characters are a manufacturing location code ( Shanghai, etc. ), and the 3rd character is the year I believe.
My reading tells me that MBP quality is improving, but it's worth it for you research this personally.
I don't use a MacBook and I'm not sure of the differences between the models, but I have read about a lot of people using the "InvisibleShield" product to protect the outer surfaces. I've been looking at that for my MBP, it seems like a good product though a bit pricey.
Hope these helped, maybe someone else will come along with better answers to your other questions. Personally, I'd do the upgrade, although the Pagemaker issue will need sorting out.