Technology has a way of changing and some companies adapt better to the changes than others. Seymour Cray pushed the technological state of the art his entire career. He was perhaps the first to realize the need for specialized computers optimized for a specific task like number crunching. His no compromise, take no prisoners approach to computer design resulted in a lot of valuable innovations that benefited a lot of people. From what I've read, many of Cray's innovations were later incorporated into ordinary computer designs.

I understand how clustering microcomputers can result in a high performance system for a low price. However, I'd like to think there's still a place for someone willing to make something special. People like Cray and Chen had a way of raising the bar, forcing others to match their innovations. I'd hate to think that computer design reached a high point with the PC.