Thanks for posting my article here. I had no idea it would generate interest =]
Yes, Excel can do all sorts of data validation, etc. What wasn't clear in the article (I didn't know I was writing for public consumption) is that the projects in question are ongoing surveys reaching (potentially) literally tens of thousands of people.
But GavinB, I agree with you; and would like a one-second fade for data validations on the web page, also.