To Root, or not to Root...

I've had my EVO for about 4-5 months, and I was hesitant to ROOT it. As an iPhone user, I Jailbroke my 3Gs once, thinking I could control the iOS. To an extent, I could, but it was WAY more difficult than 1) it NEEDED to be, and 2) I wanted it to be. I immediately reverted back to the stock iOS after a few days of frustration. Months later, as I was debating whether or not I should switch to Andriod, a few coworkers got their EVOs (the day it came out, a week or so before I did). By the time I got mine, they were more comfortable with the OS than I was, as it's a pretty big transition from iOS to Android. I planned on sticking to the stock OS. I wanted any and all updates as they were released and I was worried that messing with the OS at all would ruin (or BRICK as I learned it was called later) my precious EVO. Then HTC leaked FROYO... My friends and I all decided that we needed it. Rooting wasn't necessary to install the update, but the little bit of back-end Android we saw intrigued us. I did a LOT of reading up, with the most influential article/post coming from "Should I root my phone?" on Android Central.

Soon after, I became an XDA hawk. It took me a while to figure it out, but eventually I did it, and I haven't stopped learning since. Flashing ROMs (which I'd like to get into more detail about after I increase my understanding/knowledge) has become a weekly (or whenever a new ROM is available) event.

Currently, I'm running a bit of a FrankenROM with bits and pieces from a few different developers:

ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=799995

Notification bar: http://www.mediafire.com/?etvfczjmmqf540e

launcher: http://www.mediafire.com/?e92690u4zs8jphd

I LOVE IT, and may stick with it for a while, but before this one, I've probably flashed between 10-15 different ROMS, "just 'cuz". I would highly reccomend rooting, but ONLY if you're OK with waiting a bit for updates (most stock updates aren't available in custom ROMS for a little while, due to compatibility issues for the most part (some EVO ROMS still don't have working tethering, or 4G) and ONLY if what's available in the Stock versions of Android isn't "enough" for you, OR if you're a complete NERD like I am, and like to possibly break things, just to see if you can fix them.

I LOVE all of the options, and flexibility I have with Android, and ROOTing just expands on what's available to you. I'm studying up, and soon enough, you'll see my own ROM on Green Zone, and with any luck, it'll be the one you "stick with" until the next awesome ROM comes out. Once you root, you never go... uh... uhmm... You'll love it!

Here's a complete guide on ROOTing the EVO 4G

And here's a search I ran on XDA on ROOTing in general. It's likely you'll find your device in these results.

Here's an article on why you SHOULD.

and last but not least, HERE's what you should ALWAYS do before you make ANY big decisions...