Haven't seen the article you mention but there seems to be some merit to the idea.  These devices are more popular in the alternative power industry (Solar, Wind, Hydro) where large banks of batteries are used to store generated power.  After investing thousands of dollars in battery banks, the last thing one wants is to replace the batteries every 4-5 years because the plates are sulfated.  Apparently, pulsing a battery with a pulse width modulated (PWM) charge in the range of 300 Hz or so causes the sulfates to break down and become reabsorbed into the battery acid.  I've been interested in trying a battery desulfator but haven't had the opportunity yet, though what I've read is that while desulfators work, they take a couple weeks or a month to actually do their magic on a badly sulfated battery.  If you can put a desulfator on the battery while it's still in a reasonably useful state and keep it connected for the long-term, I'd bet this would work as advertised.