In the long, storied history of Apple rumors, nothing can touch the iPhone’s six straight years of rumor, hearsay and conjecture. The only mythologized product that comes close? The lusted-after MacBook Thin. Ever since Apple nixed the 12″ Powerbook–one of the company’s most beloved machines of all time–rumormongers have been wondering when an ultraportable notebook would return to the Apple lineup. Some have been quick to dismiss the ultraportable MacBook as a simple fanboy dream; However, given the number of rumors and patents that we’ve seen thus far, it seems pretty likely that the MacBook Thin does indeed exist–even if only as a prototype.

Now, after a few months of quiet on the MacBook Thin front, a purported eyewitness account has emerged. Remember 9to5Mac, the rumor site that leaked dubious-looking photos of the new iPod Nanos that turned out to be the real deal? Well, it looks like they’re back at it again, claiming to have scoped some thin, aluminum notebooks from Apple. Though they’re not sure if these are the fabled 12″ MacBook Pros or simply, MacBooks redesigned to look like the new iMac, they seem positive that we can expect laptops with “Black aluminum and silver aluminum” exteriors. What’s more, the new machines are “considerably slimmer than current MacBook[s]” and have a “a somewhat smaller footprint,” in addition to clicky keyboards in the new Apple style. 9to5Mac hints at a launch in October–around the same time as Leopard–so we might only have to wait a few short weeks to find out if there’s any truth to this one.

For more info:
– check out this 9to5Mac story