Crazy Apple rumor of the day: New MacBooks already shipping

We usually hate acting as an echo chamber for the viciously self-inflating Internet rumor mill, but this one is so gloriously out there that we can't help but weigh in.

Usually respectable financial outlet Barron's (owned by Dow Jones & Company, after all), caught our eye with the following report:

Citigroup's Richard Gardner asserted in a research note this morning that..."field checks" have confirmed that shipments of new MacBooks have begun; he says the most distinctive features of the new MacBooks are "very thin aluminum casing, an LED-backlit display and an aggressive entry-level price point."

This was picked up by several other tech-watching Web sites, most of which take an appropriately skeptical tone. After all, we've already heard rumblings of a MacBook-related Apple event coming up in October.

It all seems improbable, but then again, in the unlikely case that new MacBooks start turning up next week, at least we've been warned.