Using Terminal (1st time)

I have just recently bought a 12" ibook just to try Mac out. I often use Command Prompt on Win Xp and have heard you can do some cool stuff with terminal. But I don't know a thing about Unix, I was wondering if some one could give me some tips, ideas or links to get me started.

Google Search: common unix commands

man (manual) is your best friend. man commandname will display instructions on the use and purpose of a command.

One command that OS X has that other unices don't is open. It does pretty much that: opens a file as if you'd double clicked it.

The real power of unix commands (as compared to those in the Windows command prompt) comes when you chain them together using pipes or automate them using shell scripts.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=unix+pipe&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=shell+scripts&btnG=Search