News: new Mac benchmarks, Growl and Notification Center, 17-inch MacBook Pro discontinued, and more!

A series of benchmarks has surfaced which appear to include a previously unseen iMac model, according to MacRumors. It was expected that a new iMac would be announced at WWDC, and obviously that didn't happen — but if nothing else, these benchmarks could suggest that a new iMac could be just around the corner. Also highlighted by MacRumors are the benchmarks of the new MacBook Pro (both with and without Retina display), as well as the new MacBook Air. Some have been using Growl as their notification system of choice for a number of years now, myself included. With Notification Center in Mountain Lion,  that may change: Notification Center comes built-in to the OS, and doesn't require any additional setting up or configuration. That alone might mean it will be more popular than Growl. The good news is that Growl isn't going away anytime soon, and plans to be fully compatible with Notification Center in Mountain Lion.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro received no updates at WWDC, and was instead silently dropped from the existing line of MacBook Pros. There's speculation to say that Apple could release a newer model 17-inch MacBook Pro in the future as they have done in the past, but as of right now, the 17" MacBook Pro is an endangered species.

OS X Daily shares a few of the Mountain Lion wallpapers. If you aren't a registered Mac developer and don't have access to the developer preview, this is a good way to get a taste of Apple's latest OS — or just freshen up your desktop.