Can someone much smarter with physics than myself explain what the hubbub was a couple of years back when 60 Minutes and a few other sources were starting to re

Can someone much smarter with physics than myself explain what the hubbub was a couple of years back when 60 Minutes and a few other sources were starting to rehabilitate Fleischmann? http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-4952167.html http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-4952167.html http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955212n http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955212n Is this the same phenomenon? Edit: Additional question - If the palladium based device described in 60 Minutes consistently outputs more energy than input (they just don't know how long each reaction will take, exactly how much energy will be output, or quite frankly how it works), wouldn't it be a trivial matter to daisy chain hundreds of these devices and get a relatively more consistent average energy output?