That sounds like basically the same charger we have where I work. I'm thoroughly convinced that there are three companies that manufacture everything in the US and then there are just different labels slapped on it later
As for the alternator pounding your battery....I honestly don't know either, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it doesn't pound the battery. Alternators are about the "smartest" charger out there. You'd have a hard time overcharging a battery with an alt since the sense voltage. That 160 amps or whatever will likely never hit your battery. Yes, it will put a charge to the battery, but only what it needs which might be for only the first minute it runs and then intermittently throughout driving. The only time I can see the battery getting pounded pretty bad is when you use the alternator to recharge a really dead battery after jumping. I always see a disclaimer on jumper cables, etc that say not to charge the battery with your alternator after jumping. They don't exactly explain how you should charge it then since if you had a charger and gennie handy you wouldn't be jumping in the first place....
I know for a fact that my truck with multipoint fuel injection will run just fine without a battery after starting. I may have had to do this before....
After starting the alternator provided all the current I could need to run the vehicle. I was just without something in the system to absorb any power spikes that might have occured. I know some offroad light manufacturers even recommend hooking the power wires for their products directly to the alternator to prevent pounding the battery.
Anyway...sorry for the long post. If anyone knows better than I, please set me straight.