Root or wait for FROYO?

[tkjames]

I just got my Epic and I'm doing my customary PPCG research to see what I can/should do and what I'm behind on. It's my first Android, so I'm going to play around on stock for a while, but I'm going to eventually root it. So forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is this Clockwork thing I keep seeing? I'm guessing that it's a ROM similar to stock that gets installed during the rooting process....is that right? If so, will the official Froyo update conflict with Clockwork and mess up my phone? Basically, should I wait to root after the update, or will rooting with Clockwork be okay with the update?

Trying to read the info on rooting is like trying to read Japanese in a Mexican restaurant...makes no sense!

I want to root my phone mainly so I can make minor tweaks to it, like getting rid of some of the bloatware. I don't really want to run custom ROMS just yet, what with Froyo being so close (I usually wait til I'm bored with the phone, then install custom ROMS to try and fall in love with it again). I want to get all I can out of stock first, like learning to walk before trying to run.