Thanks to the lovely convention of the NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT, we really can't know what culpability Motorola has in the Apple CPU development pace.
As another astute poster once commented, the second Apple dumps Motorola for IBM, Motorola might announce MP-scalable G5s running @ 2ghz each, ready for quad/sex/oct MP systems. Could happen. For all we know, Motorola has the G5 R&D wrapped up and is ready for production, but Apple is holding them back, wanting to completely drain all of the life out of the current G4 hardware to maximize every penny spent on parts. Who knows?
I just hope they haven't taken this exercise in brinksmanship too far already. It would be a shame if the "switch campaign" really amounted to power users having to leave Mac for Athlon due to painfully slow hardware.
The 17' iMac is a sign that hardware is incrementally improving, but we need a HUGE hardware upheaval soon in the PM line or the creatures known as "Mac power users" will go the way of dinosaurs and dodo birds.
Are you guys in Cupertino listening?