(Yes, I missed blogging Day 1. Quick overview: Registration, Welcome session, Open Space sessions, Welcome dinner)

Today was a day spent with various members of the VSTS product team. With the MVPs being from lots of different places in the world there was also a lot of those moments where you introduce yourself/get introduced and you go “ohhh, so that’s who you are”. Here’s Mitch and Steve in the MS Cafe.

Thanks to the VSTS Marketing Team & Chuck + Anthony’s efforts, all the Team System MVPs ended up with a 250Gb external hard-drive full of VSTS content. Thanks guys!

We got an overview of the great things that are coming down the line, as well as had some lively discussions on various topics. (Most of which we can’t talk about just yet, but stay tuned).

It was a long day, with no breaks - but that’s how we wanted it. Tomorrow is much the same.

We spent the day on-campus in Redmond and it really looks like a great place to work. Everything is so lush, green and manicured. Here’s some snapshots I took while walking around:

What’s the weather like in Seattle? Well, it seems to be “fine” in the morning, rain/drizzle through the day and sometimes a little windy/cold in the evening. Overall, I think if you dress appropriately (read: layers) - then it’s not that big of a deal. As Mr. Stovell put it “I would rather the weather to be too cold, than 40+ heat for two weeks like Adelaide.”

One of the nice things about the summit is that I’ve had a number of people (non-VSTS MVPs included) come up to me and say “oh, I love your blog” or… “oh, I love that OzTFS list thing.. I find it so useful”. This is validation for me that it’s worth running a blog and contributing to the community. Overall, an excellent day.