Help me learn how to back up and set up a recovery on new MacBook please?

Please bear with me if I come across not knowing anything about this topic....but that's why i'm asking for help.
mentioned before that my brother set up my PC laptop for me years ago. And a friend set up my Western Digital External Hard Drive (My Book Essential Edition - i got it super cheap after rebates) and I know he downloaded Syncback from 2Brightsparks since the WD didn't come with software.
My new Macbook is charging up. I want to know if I should do a backup and recovery? Basically I want to prepare for in case I totally eff up my new Mac and have restore from scratch. I am so confused when I read forums and google stuff. I know it came with the Mac OS X, but what happens to some of the preinstalled software....will it come back up if I use the Mac OS cds? Also, I've read that some say I can backup on CD/DVD but they won't be bootable but if I use external HD it's bootable - what the heck does this all mean?
Will I have to download a software to use with the WD HD or will the preinstalled Time Machine work? (Step by Step directions on how to make a bootable restore and back up would be greatly appreciated)
and when I add other software, can I back up the computer so that if I ever have to do a system restore I can still get those software back on my Mac without having to go get the software disc or pay online again for the download?
thanks a bunch!

Hey Knotty,
If you are close to an Apple Store, you would do yourself a world of good if you purchased One-to-One Membership. The Creatives at the Apple Store can teach you how to do all of this and so much more, for a full year.
Time Machine is an automatic backup system that is pre-installed on your Mac. It is very easy to use. Since you already have the WD, you could use that for this purpose. There is no other software you would have to purchase. If there are files and such on your WD, I would first back those up to some other media, DVD or CD, then let Time Machine reformat it and use it. It will not use the same format as your old PC, which is why you will need to backup those files you need off of it.
Good Luck.
Adam

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