From Jackie Lee's recollection, a shopping trek through Sim Lim Square was less of a leisurely jaunt, and more of a jungle bashing exercise. As a young engineering student then, Jackie was tired of seeing the everyday IT consumer navigating the lanes of this IT shopping complex to hunt down the best deals for computers and tech gadgets. He recalls being like "all the other DIY enthusiasts" who wanted to build a computer for family and friends, but loathed the hard work behind securing the best computer parts for his budget. After the third year of his engineering course, Jackie had a choice: He could put his $3,000 savings in a low-budget holiday before starting his industrial attachment, or he could plough that money into some decent computers, and start an online community reviewing hardware. "We were supposed to do an industrial attachment at some MNC, or something that is...