OS X is nothing to be afraid about
It is VERY easy to install and very fast! It takes about the same time as OS 9 to install (maybe even less). The interface is like in OS 9 except it has more features (and a few more keyboard shortcuts... I use keyboard shorcuts a lot in OS 9, and I do in os x too)
There is a terminal application which you can use if you want to enter unix commands but that is 100% optional if you dont want to learn unix you dont have to. (but eventually thrgouhg experimentation you will learn I guess, just like you learned stuff about OS 9 )
Wait for 10.1 to come out and the get it (if you want to take the leap that is)