For me the learning curve was a little steep. But short and steep.
Having never used a Mac before getting my notebook, I didn't really know what to do, but after a couple hours playing around I really enjoyed OSX. After a few days you'll probably feel right at home if you've used Linux before...
A shell and everything else you might expect from a Unix is of course available - you can even go as far as installing Fink to install all (well, most) of you favourite Linux applications as precompiled packages.
You won't regret getting a Mac. If anything, you'll make your friends and business partners switch too in a few months.
