What will we see from Apple next week?

Let the speculation begin. Apple's World Wide Developers Conference kicks off next Monday in San Francisco, and rumors are, of course, flying about what Steve Jobs has in store for his developers and, well, the rest of us. First, someone snapped a shot of a banner Apple has set up in the Moscone Center that depicts various Apple products, including the Power Mac and a 64-bit emblem. We've long thought Apple was waiting for 64-bit Core 2 Duo chips to arrive before moving its high-end desktop line to the Intel platform; it didn't make sense for the professional-grade Power Mac to begin its Intel era with mobile Core Duo chips, which the Mac Mini and the iMac adopted earlier this year. We wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that the Power Mac G5 will shed its PowerPC G5 chips for Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Duo parts.

And while Intel's Core Duo (a.k.a. Yonah) laptop chips were a fine choice in January for both Apple's laptops and compact desktops, the chips now take a backseat to the newly announced Core 2 Duo T-series (a.k.a. Merom) mobile CPUs. It's only a matter of time until Apple updates its MacBook Pro and MacBook lines with the new chips.

Apple Insider reports that Apple is scheduled to receive its first shipment of Core 2 Duo chips around Labor Day and that the company will be among the first with systems. We'd guess that Core 2 Duo-based Power Mac desktops and MacBook Pro laptops will be released next month.

Lastly, we were told earlier this year that Boot Camp will be rolled into Mac OS X Leopard and the first glimpse we'll see of the OS will be at WWDC in August. We'll have editors at the show on Monday to either confirm or deny the rumors you're reading today.