iRobot

Despite my geeky nature, I had resisted getting a Roomba. I just didn't think it would be that useful. After a glowing review by my sister-in-law and my wife really wanting one, we picked one up from Costco. After having it for two days, I think it's actually a pretty good device. I'll need to spend more time with it to give a more accurate assessment, but so far it's money well spent.

Pros:

1. reduces need to vacuum since it can do a light vacuum daily (I have it programmed to run on the first floor at 3am)
2. seems to be relatively smart in regards to navigation, iRobot also does military applications, so they at least know what they are doing even if they don't implement it in the Roomba
3. watching it dock by itself is pretty cool

Cons:

1. a bit expensive, even at Costco
2. louder than I thought, but not a problem since I have it run when everyone's asleep (Ollie just sits on the stairs and watches it)
3. doesn't automatically dump the dirt it collected to make it completely hands-free