[help-GIFT] MRML/GIFT installation and other issues

[Josh Reiss]

Last summer, in order to work with MRML, I spent a couple of weeks
attempting to install GIFT and related software. This was far too much
effort spent on what should have been a relatively straightforward task,
and I never succeeded in getting a full install working properly.
Since then, I have been a silent reader of this mailing list, and it
appears to me that installation is still a very difficult task. It still
seems like MRML and GIFT are useful for the creators, who all use
similar software and have spent years working in CBIR and communicating
with each other, but MRML is not ready for use by the outsider, novice
or one who wishes to use it for other aims (my interest is music and
audio information retrieval and general benchmarking of multimedia IR
systems).
Wolfgang, David, Henning, Stephane - is work proceeding on streamlining
the installation process? Will it be possible to minimize the
dependencies of GIFT? Is there a way to install, use, and learn about
MRML without having to do a full GIFT install? Is there something along
the lines of an "Idiot's guide to MRML" or "MRML for dummies," or any
quick and easy way to get started with examples and possibly a tutorial?