This 1.0.3 Bytecoin reference client release is dev-oriented, so as a user you won't be able to notice the difference right now. I guess GUI Wallet (coming out later this week) will be more attractive to you. And if you are a merchant willing to accept Bytecoins, your solution is payment gateway (coming out with v.1.0.4), not C++ API libraries.
Why would a regular user need that stuff? From what I understand I don't need to download this Bytecoin update if I'm not a dev?