by , 8:45 AM EST, March 7th, 2007

Apple Chief Financial Officer, Peter Oppenheimer, isn't worried about the potential threat Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system poses to Mac OS X 10.5. Many of the issues that have plagued Vista, including driver incompatibility and steep hardware requirements, he said, won't be a problem for Leopard, reports CRN.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco, Mr. Oppenheimer commented "We really have simplified the installation process in such a way we don't think it's a deterrent to sales."

Mac OS X 10.5, due sometime this spring, will likely help boost Apple's bottom line. Typically, Mac software sales slow leading up to a new operating system release. After the release, however, sales jump dramatically. "The last [Mac OS X] release, in its first quarter we had $100 million of OS sales," he said.

Should consumers feel that Windows Vista offers superior features and security, some experts feel that may sway them away from considering a Mac. Mr. Oppenheimer responded "I don't really see Vista as a threat."

"In the time that it took Microsoft to develop Vista, we've come out with five releases of Mac OS X. We think we have the gold standard in operating systems," he said. "We believe we have the superior OS in the market today, and Leopard will only extend that."