Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31% of staff

Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by SoftTalker on Monday January 29, 2024 @10:21PM (#39186037)

I think they are utterly ridiculous. Get a decent canister vacuum that plugs into the wall and you'll have clean floors in 15 minutes (or less if your house is small) with no frustration, no ugly charging station to trip over, no batteries to catch on fire or require hazmat disposal when they don't work anymore, no apps, no accounts, no spying.

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by Dylan16807 on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @12:09AM (#39186585)

15 minutes how often? Once you spend 15 minutes 20 times that's a pretty significant amount.

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by mardifoufs on Monday January 29, 2024 @11:03PM (#39186277)

I think it's pretty fair to assume that anyone buying a Roomba knows about normal vacuums, and still prefer the room as for reasons that are obvious.

( Also lol at the "batteries" that catch fire, as if that's actually a thing that people should worry about. Might as well be scared of your canister vacuum's motor burning out and destroying your house, or never buy a laptop!!)

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by throwaway2037 on Monday January 29, 2024 @10:46PM (#39186180)

Why is this downvoted? Sure, a bit emotional, but the content still stands. There are so many places where Roomba and friends cannot reach. I still was a washer / dryer than can fold my clothes and change the sheets on my bed. That seems like an almost impossible task for a robot.

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by isbvhodnvemrwvn on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @04:22AM (#39188001)

It's not 'a bit emotional', it's a tantrum with as much logic as saying why have a washer/dryer when you still have to hand wash some stuff.

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by vidarh on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @09:15AM (#39190321)

Folding clothes, changing sheets, load/unload the dishwasher. Those are the things I'd pay good money to automate away. As much as I hate to vacuum, it's far down my list of the chores that annoy me most.

Meanwhile, e.g. loading and unloading the dishwasher annoys me enough that I must admit I have considered replacing my dishwasher with two slimline or drawer ones so I can use stuff out of one while filling the other...

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by hmottestad on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @02:08PM (#39194236)

I know someone who has two regular sized dish washers. They are super happy about it.

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by AuryGlenz on Monday January 29, 2024 @10:34PM (#39186110)

Great. Ours vacuums and mops, and don't tell me you can do both in 15 minutes.

There's nothing worth buying more than free time.

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by themoonisachees on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @07:48AM (#39189479)

Honestly? This isn't even a question of time. My house could take 5 minutes to clean and I still wouldn't find motivation to do it every week. Here I just push a button and at least the floors will be cleaned and mopped, and when I have more motivation I can clean in a deeper way.

I think you're mad about something but I can't quite pinpoint what, because it's not frustrating, the charging station isn't that ugly and is out of the way (because the robot knows how to get back to it), and lithium batteries have not been a real fire hazard since the note 8. I agree that using them in the first place is kind of Not Nice for the planet, but since you brought up the points of frustrating and tripping over stuff: do you somehow think using a wired vacuum is a pleasant experience?

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Re:Amazon terminates iRobot deal, vacuum maker to lay off 31... by hmottestad on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @02:06PM (#39194224)

I run my robot daily and every two weeks we pay someone to come clean. Robot mostly does a good job of keeping the floor clean during those two weeks, but it can't do the counter tops, clean the toilets or dust everywhere.

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