ATI Technologies Inc., the Markham,
Ont.-based maker of video chipsets, has spent a good chunk of the year
dealing with allegations of insider trading by its chief executive and
founder. But while that's been going on, the boys in the lab have been
churning out top-notch products. But don't take my word for it. The
uber-geek's site Tom's Hardware Guide just released its year-end
reader poll of the best of 2003 and ATI scored big. ATI's All In
Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro was selected by the 20,000 hardcore hardware nuts
who read Tom's for Best Innovation in Graphics. The ATI Mobility
Radeon 9600 was selected for Best Innovation in Mobile
Technology. And ATI also walked away with the honour as Best Graphics
Card Manufacturer. This kind of broad acceptance by geek community could
be one reason why ATI's stock has been one of
the best performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange this year. ATI
arch-rival Nvidia scored
once: The Nforce 2
Ultra won Best Innovation in Chipsets.