14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Vista is no threat for Mac OS X Leopard? Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer, while participating at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco, proved once again that Apple is living in an Apple centric world with no "windows." Oppenheimer opined that Window Vista is no threat at all for Leopard. Really? What Leopard? The latest Beta build? Or the final version of Mac OS X 10.5?
Windows Vista and Mac OS X are not currently competing for market share. The two operating systems are not even in the same league. Both products have to be in their final stage before an assessment over whether they deliver a threat to one another or not. Namely Leopard has to first hit the shelves, before Vista will pose no threat to it.
"Well in the time that it took Microsoft to develop Vista we've come out with 5 releases of Mac OS X, delivering great features. We think we have the gold standard in operating systems. We believe that we have the superior OS on the market today and the Leopard release will only extend that. With the features and functionality and stability and security of Mac OS X, I don't really see Vista as a threat. In terms of opportunity, since the hardware requirements of Vista require much of the install base to buy a new PC -- and to the extent this occurs -- it gives Macs an opportunity to be considered. And I think that could be a good thing, so we'll have to see," Oppenheimer stated, adding that Leopard is due this spring.
The truth of the matter is that both Vista and the pending Leopard have nowhere to go but up. But first of all, the two operating systems will erode the market share of their predecessors. Windows Vista will increase its share in the detriment of Windows XP and Leopard will be a welcomed addition to the increasing momentum of the market share of MacIntel.