Multi-tenancy in the API enables strict access control. So any user would not be able to list all organizations in the vCloud. Only a vCloud Administrator will be able to do so based on strict access control and privilges.

The Specification has been submitted to DMTF. The intent is for the API to be completely platform independent, so it can become an open standard. The DMTF submission has been cleansed of VMware references.

The programming guide that has been published is for illustrating the API better with examples and so has certain VMware references.

If I succeeded in frightening people, however, then I’m happy with that. Seriously, in an enterprise context (which was what I tried to frame my talk in), I think they should be at least worried. The argument for cloud computing is an economic one, but not strictly about cost reduction per se — a subtle distinction that escapes many people. And the truth is, current architectures will exploit elastic, parallel resources poorly — to the extent that this is true, that will mean inefficiency and wasted money. This is an elephant in the room (one of several) that needs to get called out, IMHO.

I’m really kind of passionate about the “big C vs. small c” distinction, so I’d be interested to hear more about why this got an “Aargh!” out of you? Although I acknowledge it’s a doomed proposition, I’d go so far as to say that, ideally, I wish we would all just talk (if at all) about the big C variant, and the small c variant would disappear forever. The common usage of things like “private cloud” (which most people really use to mean “internal cloud” — a system that is designed with remote resources attached to an enterprise’s network in a secure way sure seems to me to be a “private cloud”, despite the fact that a portion of it is external), for example, drive me batty.

But I’m happy to debate it with you, and I’m certainly open to being convinced to stop talking about it in this manner. Cheers!