I like to keep up on advancements in the C++ realm, as it was an early on language of choice for me dating back to college days. "Soma" Somasegar, one of the few Microsoft execs who blogs consistently, announced the results of Microsoft's ongoing investment in native libraries in his blog.

According to Soma with the the new MFC library, developers will be able to create applications that feature the "look and feel" of Microsoft's most popular products – including Office, Internet Explorer and Visual Studio.  

Great new features for the C++ language.