Article

2005-01-13 -Short Attention Span Theater-

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Posted by muck4doo 2005-01-13 18:53|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 cool! I want the dishwashing, lawnmowing, bedmaking, vacuuming model.

Posted by 2b 2005-01-13 12:30:46 AM|| 2005-01-13 12:30:46 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 I want the real "leisure" one, if y'know what I mean. Heh, heh.

Posted by nada 2005-01-13 1:32:53 AM|| 2005-01-13 1:32:53 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 The prototype, with a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words, won a prestigious prize for innovation at CES ..

I guess we have found the top negotiator for the Palestine , it couldnt do any worse than its predecessors , and it has a bigger vocabulary .

Posted by MacNails 2005-01-13 5:36:20 AM|| 2005-01-13 5:36:20 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 The lawnmower and vacuum cleaner versions are already available.

Posted by Mike 2005-01-13 6:52:48 AM|| 2005-01-13 6:52:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 I want the dishwashing, lawnmowing, bedmaking, vacuuming model.

We have one of those, it's called "Steve".

Posted by Steve 2005-01-13 9:13:25 AM|| 2005-01-13 9:13:25 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 DARPA is leading the way in robotek, and the Pentagon is screaming for robots, robots everwhere, of all different kinds. I suspect this will drive robotics to be the next tech revolution. The biggest leaps forward will be something like: practical, high amp fuel cells that can go for several hours on a quart of methanol; mechanical parts made from advanced materials, light, strong and durable; "soft" mechanical parts that can replicate muscle; and finally, advanced AI that can parallel process sensory information and interact with people. Several of these things already exist, but have yet to be incorporated together into a robotic system. The two biggest tech needs are the power source and the specialized chips and software needed to act as the brain. Windows XT is right out.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-01-13 9:33:00 AM|| 2005-01-13 9:33:00 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 That's "XP". For "eXuding Poop".

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-01-13 9:33:40 AM|| 2005-01-13 9:33:40 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Westworld, anyone?

Posted by Steve White 2005-01-13 10:03:22 AM|| 2005-01-13 10:03:22 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 I've got a Roomba. Love it -- charge up the battery, set it loose, and an hour later the room's vaccuumed. It can't handle stairs, though.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2005-01-13 10:28:57 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com/] 2005-01-13 10:28:57 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 I'm looking for a robot to replace the robot here that has been captured by Rantburg. Can't get any work out of the old robot anymore--won't work on Maggie's Farm No More.

Posted by John Q. Citizen 2005-01-13 10:31:44 AM|| 2005-01-13 10:31:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 the Army of Steveâ¢ becomes the Network of Steveâ¢

Posted by Frank G 2005-01-13 10:52:54 AM|| 2005-01-13 10:52:54 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 RC does it hold enough stuff to make it useful? I mean I've 3 dawgs and 4 cats... would it still work?

Posted by Shipman 2005-01-13 2:31:15 PM|| 2005-01-13 2:31:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 No pets here, so I can't answer that, but it may help to know I'm a bachelor and have the housekeeping habits of one. Having a Roomba around means the floors get vaccuumed about twice as often as they would otherwise.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2005-01-13 3:13:24 PM|| [http://www.kloognome.com/] 2005-01-13 3:13:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 SMan. Got two dawgs and 4 cats-nearly the full catastrophe. It seems to be universal--the vacuum cleaner strikes terror in their hearts, i.e. can't get them to sit still while trying to vacuum them

Posted by John Q. Citizen 2005-01-13 3:21:14 PM|| 2005-01-13 3:21:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 LOL! You need a silencer.... where's that tank silencer?

Posted by Shipman 2005-01-13 4:29:01 PM|| 2005-01-13 4:29:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 Rantburg title of the future:

"Vaccuuming robots and why do they hate us."

Posted by Mark E. 2005-01-13 5:12:43 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:12:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 I want to know if it works with pet hair....that would be so cool. Does it fall down stairs?

Posted by 2b 2005-01-13 5:18:55 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:18:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 Roomba detects stairs and pulls back from them before it falls over. It's cool to watch when it does it. The manufacturer claims it handles pet hair OK, but I've no direct experience with that--tropical fish don't have hair.

Posted by Mike 2005-01-13 5:24:39 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:24:39 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Vaccuuming = Vacuuming... Heh, been there, done that...

As another poster who forgets "Preview is my friend", and I'm sure I do it more often than Mark, I offer this free little utility i ran across for everyone using IE. It's a spell-checker for the text box. Before you hit submit, just right-click anywhere in the text box and select "Check Spelling". It even keeps a custom dictionary and lets you set the usual and logical options. IESpell v2.1.0.552 (2.45MB). It works great.

Posted by .com 2005-01-13 5:24:46 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:24:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 wow...thanks .com!

Posted by 2b 2005-01-13 5:29:06 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:29:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 Thanks Mike. I really, really want one now. Too bad Christmas is over!

Posted by 2b 2005-01-13 5:30:08 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:30:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 I have a Kirby
Its not robotic but you only have to use it once since it sucks the entire cat or dog off the floor
and into the dust bag which completely solves the pet hair problem :)

Posted by EoZ 2005-01-13 5:36:11 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:36:11 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 No pets here, so I can't answer that, but it may help to know I'm a bachelor and have the housekeeping habits of one.

Nice to know I'm not the only one like that. (of course I do vacuum at least once a week..)

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-01-13 5:38:47 PM|| 2005-01-13 5:38:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#24 My cats regard anything roaming about on the floor as theirs to eat or play with. The Hoover upright sends 2 of them for cover the third stands it's ground and is apperently prepaired to kill. The Roomba debate contionues here at our hillside manor.

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2005-01-13 6:03:25 PM|| [http://www.slhess.com] 2005-01-13 6:03:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#25 SPOD,
Buy a Kirby and you'll definately vanquish the third
cat....
This thing can suck in a german shepherd dog without a burp !

Posted by EoZ 2005-01-13 6:11:03 PM|| 2005-01-13 6:11:03 PM|| Front Page Top

#26 Shipman:
I have two Samoyeds; they don't shed, they shed. The Roomba seems to work OK with their hair. I don't know if it gets it all, but it does get at least some and at least it doesn't choke on the hair the way the Kirby does.

Posted by jackal 2005-01-13 7:05:20 PM|| [http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2005-01-13 7:05:20 PM|| Front Page Top

00:02 liberalhawk
23:58 Cyber Sarge
23:54 2b
23:54 Zhang Fei
23:49 Zhang Fei
23:46 .com
23:25 Sock Puppet of Doom
23:03 Sock Puppet of Doom
22:58 trailing wife
22:57 Barbara Skolaut
22:54 JosephMendiola
22:45 cingold
22:25 trailing wife
22:24 Jame Retief
22:23 BH
22:23 CrazyFool
22:18 Anonymoose
22:18 Alaska Paul
22:16 Tom
22:12 trailing wife
21:54 trailing wife
21:52 Captain America
21:52 trailing wife
21:50 Captain America