Most of those are Effects using a Javascript library. Some of them had interesting applications, such as the sortable/drag and drop features that would allow for a personalized favorites page for each user. The random effects could be used to have the updates on the index page move in, fade out, jump out when mousedover. The drawbacks to those would be murdering the load time with the effects on page load, and having each user's database information increase.
Some of those effects and Web 2.0 stuff could be done with flash, or dhtml/css, like interactive drop-down/spry menus.
Dont know if that was helpful or relavent, and sorry for the lag time in responses, work and classes.