This week, Apple Computer began shipping its MacBook Pro notebook computers, Intel-based machines that replace the company's aging and underpowered PowerBook products. But Apple didn't just meet its February ship date commitment, which frankly is pretty amazing given the company's record. Instead, Apple is presenting MacBook Pro customers with a welcome present: It's upping the processor speed on all models. The baseline MacBook Pro, which was to have utilized a 1.67GHz Intel Core Duo processor, sports a 1.83GHz processor instead. And the high-end model, previously spec'd to include a 1.83GHz processor, is shipping with a 2.0GHz chip. That's fantastic, but early adopters are getting screwed out of the best news: Apple is now offering a 2.16GHz chip in a special build-to-order option. So, if you preordered a MacBook Pro on the day they were announced, like a good Apple doobie, you'll get a free CPU upgrade, but not the best CPU offering. Sorry, sycophants