Warmest greetings from The Management and Staff of MACROKIOSK!

Year 2005 marked a dynamic year for the mobile industry in Malaysia, where two of the local giant Telcos officially launched their third generation (3G) mobile services, bringing the mobile industry to the next level. Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad launched their 3G services in May 2005 while Maxis Communications Berhad launched their version of 3G services in July 2005.

More to the point, mobile content is becoming richer and more sophisticated, where we witness the birth of Tamil SMS and Colour-SMS in 2005. This comes on the heels of the launch of 3G, and this further reiterates the compelling value proposition of more exciting contents in time to come.

Year 2006 is going to be another exciting and eventful year for the mobile data industry. By leveraging on the 3G technology, we envision many more new services are going to be introduced. 3G is an important avenue towards realizing 3.5G and even 4G in years to come and there is a clear evolutionary path to support the growing mobile data market. It is apparent that 3G is going to be phenomenal.

MACROKIOSK is proud to present its FIRST issue of e-Newsletter, the BLACKMAIL - a stirring and informative bi-monthly news flash, featuring news inside and outside MACROKIOSK. Know more about MACROKIOSK's family, the latest happenings, updates about our products and services, media news, and let us take you to a new breath of the mobile data world, where we feature the latest news about the mobile data industry, what's in vogue, statistics and much more.

The name BLACKMAIL came about with the deliberation that BLACK associates with MACROKIOSK's corporate culture and color; and MAIL indicates "the transmission of information". Putting together the words, BLACKMAIL carries various meaning - most of all suggesting an inimitable yet interesting piece of information.

It is our pleasure to provide the best and most useful information to everyone. In MACROKIOSK, we believe that a successful company is determined by GREAT customers, partners, associates, suppliers and vendors. It is not just about SMS, but it is our passion in sharing our MESSAGING KNOWLEDGE with everyone, to bridge business boundaries across countries and cultures!

Many of us can recall the inventor of the telephone - the ingenious Alexander Graham Bell. However, when we raise the question, "who was the inventor of cell phones?" - it is often unanswered.

Mobile telephones (not cell phones) have been around for almost 60 years before we got our first cell phones in the 1980s. The mobile telephones (such as radiotelephones for ships, aircraft, military vehicles and cars) diverged from radio waves; and it is fair we first find out who discovered radio waves or first made use of radio waves for communication.

Lets us bring you back to the 19th century...

David Hughes, of Britain discovered radio waves, but was told incorrectly that had discovered no such thing. However, Hughes experimented something interesting where he transmitted 'signals' from one room to another in his house on Great Portland Street, London. Hughes then took to the streets of London with his telephone, intently listening for the clicking produced by the tick-tock of his clockwork transmitter. He obtained a greater range by setting the transmitter in operation and walking up and down Great Portland Street with the receiver in hand and with the telephone to ear. Since Hughes moved his experiment from the lab to the field, he had truly gone mobile. Although these clicks were not voice transmission, it is fair to credit Hughes with taking the first mobile telephone call in 1879.

Thanks to Hughes, his discovery eventually led to the invention of cell phones. Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, is deemed the inventor of the first modern portable handset - the cell phone. Cooper made the first call on a portable cell phone in April 1973. He made the call to his rival, Joel Engel (Head of Research, Bell Labs). Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communications in 1947 with the police car technology. However, Motorola was the first to incorporate the technology into portable device that was designed for outside of an automobile use.

Clearly, there is a generation leap from the telephones, to radio waves, to mobile telephones, and then the cell phones. Today, cell phone is not only a communication tool, but it has become a totemic and fashion object.

YEAR END PARTY 2005 | 21st December 2005

MACROKIOSK held its recent year-end party in the Gazebo Poolside Restaurant, Renaissance Kuala Lumpur. This relaxing and enjoyable jamboree was organized in conjunction with Christmas; also a time for sharing and gift exchange.

It was an evening filled with fun, excitement and enjoyment, where all the staff put on their party hats and "painted the town red". MACROKIOSK appreciates and values its PEOPLE, holding the belief that "GREAT INDIVIDUALS BUILD GREAT COMPANY" - this event was organized specially for the management and staff of MACROKIOSK. The wonderful evening ended with a sweet and thoughtful gift-exchange session, where the staff brought home not only the sweet recollections, but a gift from the heart of the sender.

ACM 2005 | 6th – 9th September 2005

MACROKIOSK participated in Malaysia's biggest ICT event, The Asean Communications and Multimedia Expo (ACM) 2005 where MACROKIOSK was appointed the Official SMS Provider for the exhibition. Over and above that, MACROKIOSK was also invited as one of the official dignitaries for the opening ceremony, alongside the Yang Berhormat Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Energy Water and Communications Malaysia. In addition, CEO, Mr. Kenny Goh was one of nine persons given the honour of attending a luncheon with the King, Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong XII Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail.

MACROKIOSK was also fortunate to secure a strategically located booth at the centre aisle, near the main entrance and among the major Telcos.

For the second year in a row, MACROKIOSK won a prize at the Best @ Show Award. This time, MACROKIOSK was awarded the Best New Service Award for our new revolutionary service - the Mobile Authentication Services (MAS), a contemporary paperless system that can be customized for use in any system that involves identification codes. Last year, MACROKIOSK won the Most Enterprising Services award.

GLAMOROUS NIGHT 2005 | 12th August 2005

Not only did MACROKIOSK gain the limelight in winning many awards, 2005 also mark a notable year where MACROKIOSK celebrated its 5th year anniversary in the business of messaging. It was a noteworthy and fabulous evening at The Westin, Kuala Lumpur.

Sharing our joy were GOLDIS' Board of Directors, mobile operators, clients, joint-venture partners, bankers, as well as other invitees from different countries and regions.

Team members from the other 6 countries, namely Bangkok, Brunei, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Singapore were flown to Kuala Lumpur to join the Malaysian team for this memorable event. Besides that, we were honoured with the attendance and support from all the three local mobile operators - Maxis, Celcom and DiGi, as well as mobile operators from the other 6 countries. Among them were DTAC, Orange, AIS, Singtel, M1 and Starhub.

MACROKIOSK extended its deepest gratitude for the support shown thus far.

TEAM BUILDING | 15th & 16th July 2005

MACROKIOSK believes in motivating and coaching its PEOPLE not only in work related tasks but also in interpersonal skills and talents to inculcate positive attitudes in each individual. All the management and staff attended a team building seminar conducted by the well-known Dr. Lawrence Walter Ng with the intention to achieve a "Total Team Power".

Conducted in Hotel Royal Adelphi, Seremban, this two-day seminar gave a deep concept of team power, team goal, team spirit and the theory of positive challenge. The purpose of the seminar was to build team spirit and team support amongst colleagues, and also to understand the importance of good customer service and the power of communication. Besides that, the seminar aims to equip the staff with positive attitudes and reiterate the magnitude of how team spirit guaranteed a company's success. At MACROKIOSK, we sustain the belief that "We COACH Our PEOPLE to GROW with US".