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Is there room for Roomba? (continued)
Roomba is immensely entertaining. I've taken Roomba to visit several different houses, and everyone ends up spellbound as Roomba cruises the floor and picks up dirt that the homeowner didn't even realize was there. The apparent randomness of Roomba's pattern adds to the excitement, as you can never be quite sure that Roomba will pick up a particular piece of dirt on a particular pass.
If you're the type of person who wants completely spotless floors, Roomba probably isn't for you. It does miss bits of dust or cat litter here and there, although these are usually quite spread out and therefore not that noticeable. If, on the other hand, you're content to have floors that don't scare the neighbours, and would rather spend your time reading or writing reviews than vacuuming, Roomba may be just what you need.
I've had no issues with my Roomba. It works quietly and consistently, entertaining me at the same time. If Roomba were able to leave its Home Base and finish a job after recharging its batteries, or if it could be scheduled to run at a certain time every few days, I would rate it a 5. As it stands right now, Roomba earns a rating of 4 for its ease of use, well thought out design, and entertainment value.
OUR RATING: 4 of 5
Now, if only I could find a robot to clean the litter box...
[For the record, that would be called the LitterMaid. It works, sort of. After I brought LitterMaid into the house, Sammy spent about a week sitting outside the door and staring at it intently as it would scoop and clean. Then she decided to conduct a terror campaign against the LitterMaid, and eventually the LitterMaid stopped working. She would attack it while it scooped, pounce on it, crash it against walls, and once, managed to turn it over.
While the device worked reasonably well and as advertised, it was no match against a determined kitty, and, therefore, I can't really recommend it for combat use. -- David]
James Booth is Editor-at-Large at ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and handheld specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.
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