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Roomba
Kicks ass. Our old vacuum started to go bad, and I replaced it with this. Takes a little longer to vacuum a room, but you pretty much set it up and walk away. It's not very loud - you can watch TV in the room while it's going. Doesn't scare the hell out of pets, and it does as good a job as a stand up vacuum.
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I've got a Roomba, and I hate it. Here is why:
1) It doesn't clean very well. It can pick up tiny bits or whatever, but it's not powerful by any stretch. It's not like you could drop a box of cereal or shatter a glass and just let the roomba clean it up as you head off for a round of golf.
2) It gets stuck easily. To avoid it getting stuck, you have to spend a good deal of time and thought thinking of how to restrict its area with virtual walls or by shifting furniture around.
3) Its random path cleaning approach is frustrating to watch. I'm sorry, but I just can't help but not like seeing it drive right pass dirty spots just to re-cover something it has already "cleaned."
4) After the roomba cleans, you have to clean the roomba! You have to get your hands all up in its collection bin, its cleaner brush, etc. By the time you've done that, you've essentially voided any benefit you gained by not having to vacuum manually. You don't have to clean the roomba every time, but when you do, it's nasty.