Perhaps these questions would be better addressed in the MRO thread where the devs will be able to answer. Alternatively join freenode #monero or #monero-otc and ask in there.
But the short answer to the GUI question is there is still a bounty for it and also there is a sort of GUI wallet already.
In addition to the bounty, the Boolberry devs
are working on a "base GUI" and a "nice GUI" for CryptoNote currencies.