MacBook Pro Replacing Powerbooks?

Rumor has it that Apple is planning to roll out a 17-inch MacBook Pro at the National Association of Broadcasters conference next week during a presentation of the newly released Final Cut Studio 5.1 software, which runs natively on Intel hardware. Apple Insider reports the 17-inch widescreen notebook is expected to be faster and have more storage than the existing high-end MacBook Pro currently on the market.

It's also speculated that Apple will replace the 12-inch Powerbook G4 with a MacBook Pro sporting a 13-inch widescreen display and Intel Core Duo processors. If rumors are true, Apple will eventually replace all PowerBooks with MacBooks just like it has done with the 15-inch Powerbook.

On other news, a company called ExperCom is selling MacBook Pros preloaded with Windows XP. Which basically means they run Boot Camp for you on the notebook, but they don't offer support after installation either so you're still on your own there.

Gizmodo writes that Apple may be underclocking the graphics processor in MacBook Pros to prevent it from overheating. Tests show that it's running at least 35 percent slower than what ATI suggests. This doesn't mean it can't run faster "at the expense of a much more noisy fan."