Look at C++/CLI (Score 2, Informative)

The C++/CLI language looks interesting. You can download the spec from http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/sta ndards/Ecma-372.htm. Yes, it is Microsoft grown, but they seem to have some good people on the design team (Lippman, Sutter) and it's nothing at all like the mess that Managed C++ was. It's worth looking at if you want to keep abreast of 'current trends'.