XE2 Hotfix for Lion

I just saw a hot fix has been released to fix some issues in Update 2 (found through this Embarcadero blog post by J T.)  It looks like it only affects C++: it fixes a linker error and an error compiling STL containers.

If you use C++ Builder or RAD Studio, this looks worth applying.

As a side note, I only noticed this because I keep a close eye on community blog posts (through DelphiFeeds, a very useful site for collecting multiple sources together.)  Does anyone know if there's a specific feed where things like these hot fixes are announced?  I'm wondering how I would have been supposed to hear about it if I didn't happen to have seen it mentioned in a blog.

Transparent graphics with pure GDI (Part 1 1/2)

Last post, I said that the next part of my transparent graphics series would be Part 2, and would introduce a class I've written to simplify drawing to glass, drawing partially transparent shapes and text, etc.

I haven't posted this yet, simply because life has got in the way - since my last post, I spent a couple of weeks back home in Australia visiting friends and colleagues, and traveling a bit on the way back here.  (I went camel-riding.  They're surprisingly weird animals.)  I'm afraid I simply haven't had time to write the article and to polish the final bits of the library code.

Part 2 really is coming, and I'm sorry it's taking so long.  In the meantime, here is a quick post, Part 1 1/2, addressing a couple of questions asked in the comments for Part 1.