[Nergol]

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a record of accurate Apple predictions, says so:
Apple 17-Inch Macbook Pro to Get the Ax: Report - Desktops and Notebooks - News & Reviews - eWeek.com

[amazing]

it's just another rumor.

Spreading Apple rumors is a web favorite activity...

[The Godfather]

I hope not. I am looking forward to seeing the retina upgrade in the 17", but just to watch and skip.

[mduell]

Mac Pro is next.

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Mac Pro is next.

For an upgrade or the chopping block?

[lpkmckenna]

If it's true that Apple only sells 50K of them a year, then yeah it might be discontinued. That low number really surprises me, though.

It might also be difficult to manufacture retina displays that large, and a 15" MBP with retina might make the 17" pointless in any case.

[richwig83]

It wouldn't surprise me.

[SierraDragon]

Sandy Bridge with Thunderbolt brought true desktop replacement (DTR) capability to the laptop world for the first time and the 17" Sandy Bridge is the flagship box in the category. It would be inappropriate for Apple to drop the 17" without first seeing where the brand new DTR market goes.

Plus losing the 17" size would piss off a lot of photogs (admittedly not currently a huge segment, but growing) like me who like the large matte display for field use but use the MBP as DTR when not in the field.

Note that although more display pixels are good thing, going to even higher pixel densities does not replace having more physical screen area when one is sharing imagery with clients in the field.

-Allen

[chipchen]

Originally Posted by SierraDragon 

Sandy Bridge with Thunderbolt brought true desktop replacement (DTR) capability to the laptop world for the first time and the 17" Sandy Bridge is the flagship box in the category. It would be inappropriate for Apple to drop the 17" without first seeing where the brand new DTR market goes.

Plus losing the 17" size would piss off a lot of photogs (admittedly not currently a huge segment, but growing) like me who like the large matte display for field use but use the MBP as DTR when not in the field.

Note that although more display pixels are good thing, going to even higher pixel densities does not replace having more physical screen area when one is sharing imagery with clients in the field.

-Allen

But it wouldn't be the first time Apple has dropped a product and pissed off a bunch of pros. And it probably wouldn't be the last.

Of recent, would be Final Cut Pro going to FCP X. LOTS of pissed off people. A lot of people who had to go back to AVID.

Of course there's the X Serve. That product elimination REALLY puzzled me. I would have thought that just Apple itself was a big enough client to continue producing them!

Also the 30" Cinema Display. I don't know that there were THAT many people pissed off, but it showed that Apple doesn't mind eliminating a product line that doesn't have a large market.

[amazing]

The ways of Apple are mysterious and unfathomable!

And the rumors aren't always true!

[Spheric Harlot]

The 17" MacBook pro already has retina resolution.

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

The 17" MacBook pro already has retina resolution.

How do you figure?

[Spheric Harlot]

Retina display Macs, iPads, and HiDPI: Doing the Math (updated) | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by chipchen 

Of course there's the X Serve. That product elimination REALLY puzzled me. I would have thought that just Apple itself was a big enough client to continue producing them!

I know that once upon a time Apple UK was scrabbling around for all the Xserves they could get their hands on, making use of every last G4 unit they could find (I don't know what for) but I don't know how many they had in total or what they were doing with them. That aside I always got the impression that Apple didn't really use them for their own services like .Mac or iTunes.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by amazing 

it's just another rumor.

Spreading Apple rumors is a web favorite activity...

Ming-Chi Kuo accurately predicted the iPad 2 specs and configurations, and he predicted in mid-September that the iPhone 5 would be virtually indistinguishable from the 4, have a greatly improved antenna system, an A5 processor, and be called the "4S".

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Retina display Macs, iPads, and HiDPI: Doing the Math (updated) | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Sorry but the source data is flawed. No way average users have a 26" viewing distance with a MBP. I am over 6' tall with long arms and my maximum viewing distance is 22" eyes-to-display when typing. Typing and arm length place a laptop's viewing distance except when using an external keyboard.

Standalone external displays of course can be adjusted to ideal viewing distances for the display size.

-Allen

[amazing]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Ming-Chi Kuo accurately predicted the iPad 2 specs and configurations, and he predicted in mid-September that the iPhone 5 would be virtually indistinguishable from the 4, have a greatly improved antenna system, an A5 processor, and be called the "4S".

Disclaimer: I'm way far from being an expert on who's who in the rumor world...

but here's Redmond Pie's take on the whole thing:

Why Apple Shouldn't Kill Off The 17-Inch MacBook Pro | Redmond Pie

"Nevertheless, this is still a rumor coming from yet another hit-or-miss analyst. But, judging the complete lack of updates when it comes to Apple’s other content-creator oriented line, the Mac Pro, this wouldn’t be all too surprising."

[The Godfather]

Chinese sources are more reliable than any western analyst for two reasons:
1. More likely to have insider illegal spies in Foxconn, or legal data from procurement public bids.
2. Less likely to have insider illegal pump-and-dump NYSE partners who would distort reality for their nefarious purposes.