Dirk-Jan de Bruin's Weblog

Osama bin Laden is dead, and the Internet is buzzing.

A lot of people are looking for the (GPS) coordinates. It seems most of the newschannels refer to this location:
34.146414, 73.216874

(UPDATE: these co-ordinates are for the location that was first shown in the local media, for the actual location of the Compound on Google Maps, please scroll down to the updates below)

Also, a lot of sites refer to how close it was to a police station, but it seems the station has been out of operation for quite a while:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41218604@N00/562921843/

People have already started to exploit the places marked on Google Maps, take a look at one the reviews on local playground located at Karakoram Highway, Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Here we can find the following "review":
"Osama Bin Laden ‎ - 2 May 2011
Fun place to play football. But the small children, they do not pass the ball to me. "

We can find another review like this for the Nargis Danish Clinic .
"Osama Bin Laden ‎ - 2 May 2011
Great clinic - good nephrologist."

As for the 'Principles Office':
"Osama Bin Laden ‎ - 2 May 2011
One time I had to go here cuz I got in TROUBLEEEE." (1 star rating)

And the earlier mentioned Cantt police station:
"Osama Bin Laden ‎ - 2 May 2011
friendly staff. "

And the Abbottabad Presbyterian Church:
"MF ‎ - 2 mei 2011
Kept trying to convert me. -OBL."

The Red Onion restaurant:
"Osama Bin Laden ‎ - 2 May 2011
Love that bloomin' onion appetizer but it goes straight to my thighs.

Willimon ‎ - 2 May 2011
A great little place to unwrap the turban, put the AK in the rifle rack, and just unwind after a hard day of Jihad."

Other people have started to hijack random locations in Abbottabad:
Govt. Higher Secondary School No.2 has the following review:
"James ‎ - 2 May 2011
F Bin Laden! USA USA UAA"

The Abbottabad Hockey Stadium:
"Mike ‎ - 2 May 2011
Too much US special forces, not enough hockey... "
(13 of of 15 people reported this review as useful)

The Pakistan Squash Complex, near the Compound:
"Willimon ‎ - 2 May 2011
Funny, we just squashed a complex there too... "

(I wonder what happens to these reviews ones people start reporting them as inappropriate)

If you are interested in the actual Abbottabad surroundings, check out this flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41218604@N00/with/562921843/

UPDATE: TechCrunch shows another location (which does not seem to match the one shown in broadcast media), which includes the same type of "reviews":
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/bin-ladens-compound-gets-a-bum-review-on-google-maps/

UPDATE 2: Local media has started showing the same location as TechCrunch as the compounds location.
Guess we need to track the media to find out which location is the real one...

UPDATE 3: There is certainly some confusion in the media about the actual location.
I have been too busy to check out all the media. Yesterday local media started showing the location for which I posted the coordinates, later they started showing this location.

Others have reported this one... Which is near Kukal Road, a name that is often mentioned in newsreports.

Did anyone have the time to match the aerial photos with the videos and official releases?

UPDATE 4: Ogle Earth has the solution. It seems it is indeed the 3rth location.

Because I cannot wait for the Galaxy S2 9200 to be released, and I don't like the other phones currently available I decided to go for another Galaxy S.

On my previous phone I experienced a lot of deathgrip issues: In low coverage area's I was unable to drop calls.

So I decided to go for the "Apple solution": just accept the issues and use a case...

It indeed seems to help to reduce reception issues. I am still getting quite a lot of attenuation just by "holding it wrong" (read: landscape mode, using two hands).

The GPS is still a big issue. Using Layar or navigation software is hardly possible at all. I hope the Froyo 2.2 will solve this issue...

Leaked out beta versions of Froyo 2.2 for the Galaxy S are already available, but I'll just test my patience. Rumours report the update to be available this September.

I've been writing about my frustration with the Galaxy S i9000 antenna/death grip/attenuation/reception issues.

A couple of people have been asking me about the GPS. It seems besides the whole death grip issue, many people are experiencing GPS issues as well.

My answer: I have not tried the GPS, and have already returned my Galaxy S, so I cannot try it.

But check out this small poll on the Galaxy S part of the XDA Developers forum.

I hope Samsung gets their act together...

Maybe all these issues will be resolved when (and if) the rumored Galaxy S Pro, Galaxy S2 i9200 or Galaxy Q hit the market.

UPDATE: If you own a Galaxy S that has GPS issues, and you are planning to keep it. Check out this link for a possible fix for the Galaxy S GPS issues.