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Roomba vacuum maker is bankrupt - no real surprise

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 15, 2025, 11:03:26

I never understood why there would be a large demand for a single-purpose device like this. How long does it take to vacuum? If you can't do it, hire an occasional housekeeper.

How vulnerable is your technology to copying by the people in China crushing other industries?

The people who prohibited Amazon's offer to buy the company obviously didn't understand the market or future trends. Typical European bias against American companies and cluelessness about China:

"European regulators moved to block the acquisition in January 2024, citing concerns that Amazon could squeeze out rivals by restricting marketplace access."

WSJ editorial whacks Lina Khan, Elizabeth Warren, et al

Posted by Potomac <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Potomac' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 19, 2025, 14:36:35, in reply to "Roomba vacuum maker is bankrupt - no real surprise"

Maybe this was inevitable. Maybe not.

“Amazon stands to gain access to extremely intimate facts about our most private spaces that are not available through other means, or to other competitors,” leftwing groups wrote to the Biden FTC. They omitted that iRobot’s main competitors were Chinese companies, which were fast stealing market share. Beijing wants to dominate robotics.

In January 2024, Amazon and iRobot called off the deal amid opposition from Ms. Khan’s FTC and Europe’s antitrust regulators. The Biden FTC issued a statement saying it was “pleased.” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy quipped that regulators trusted Chinese firms “more than they do Amazon.” Less pleased are the U.S. workers who subsequently lost their jobs.

After the deal collapsed, iRobot said it would cut 31% of its workforce and send overseas “non-core engineering functions to lower-cost regions.” Even then, the Bedford, Mass.-based company continued to struggle against Chinese competitors. Amazon’s backing might have helped it innovate into new robotics fields that Chinese firms hadn’t penetrated.

Mr. Trump’s tariffs may have been the fatal punishment. The company had shifted production to Vietnam to minimize its trade exposure to China. It was smacked all the same by Mr. Trump’s 46% Liberation Day tariffs on Vietnam. Mr. Trump later cut the tariffs to 20% in a deal with Vietnam, but iRobot said the trade uncertainty made it hard to operate.

The ironic culmination to the story: iRobot will now be taken over by its Chinese contract manufacturer Picea, which also makes competing household devices. By scuttling the Amazon acquisition, antitrust regulators have strengthened Chinese robotic competitors and driven jobs overseas. Will Ms. Khan and Ms. Warren take a bow? Probably not.

As someone who does not own one of these devices (but should) my understanding is . . .

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 15, 2025, 11:37:43, in reply to "Roomba vacuum maker is bankrupt - no real surprise"
weiner sleeve

. . . that there are much less expensive alternatives.

Guns. Have them.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

Just make sure to get a self emptying one and one that has ample suction.

Posted by villain <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=villain' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 15, 2025, 11:49:11, in reply to "As someone who does not own one of these devices (but should) my understanding is . . ."
Stupidhead

Also, if you have non carpet flooring, get the dual mop/vac combo.

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. . . that there are much less expensive alternatives.

probably just another real jerk in life

I was wondering about that feature. My downstairs is almost entirely wood flooring with . . .

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 15, 2025, 13:41:15, in reply to "Just make sure to get a self emptying one and one that has ample suction."
weiner sleeve

. . . a few carpets. Have to pick the carpets up before the mopping?

Guns. Have them.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

No, it recognizes those and goes around them when mopping *

Posted by villain <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=villain' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 16, 2025, 9:30:26, in reply to "I was wondering about that feature. My downstairs is almost entirely wood flooring with . . . "
Stupidhead

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. . . a few carpets. Have to pick the carpets up before the mopping?

probably just another real jerk in life

Ok, good. I was hoping that was the case. Really need to get one.*

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 16, 2025, 9:33:25, in reply to "No, it recognizes those and goes around them when mopping *"
weiner sleeve

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. . . a few carpets. Have to pick the carpets up before the mopping?

Guns. Have them.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

Wood floors are like glass top stoves. Impossible to keep clean.*

Posted by Lexillini <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Lexillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 16, 2025, 11:56:41, in reply to "Ok, good. I was hoping that was the case. Really need to get one.*"
weiner sleeve

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. . . a few carpets. Have to pick the carpets up before the mopping?

Guns. Have them.

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.

Socialism is the gospel of envy.

EuroCucks and Libs gotta get real comfortable with the Mag 7 owning more

Posted by fratstud <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=fratstud' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 15, 2025, 11:30:45, in reply to "Roomba vacuum maker is bankrupt - no real surprise"
Go Zags!

and more crap like this and streaming content. These sorts of businesses are reaching the point where they're only viable with a major deep pocket backing them. I would like to see creditors sue the EU regulators in international trade court as they were materially and prejudicially harmed by the EuroCucks political bullshit.

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"Iowa women were better than Illini men" - Potomac

We love ours.

Posted by Figs <iframe src='https://members.boardhost.com/onedeuce/info/user=Figs' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on December 15, 2025, 11:12:05, in reply to "Roomba vacuum maker is bankrupt - no real surprise"

With hardwood on the first floor, and a dog, we just set it to run every weekday at 7:30 am. Perfect for keeping dog hair swept up.

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“the intensity of a conviction that a hypothesis is true has no bearing over whether it is true or not.” - Peter Medawar

Same. Our entire 1st floor is wood and we have 2 shedding dogs....plus North Idaho is wet for 6

months out of the year so wet paws are always leaving marks.

Ours vacuums and mops and we run it every evening after we go to bed. It's not perfect, but it's 85% of the way there and means we only have to manually vacuum and mop 1/week instead of daily.

Ours isn't a roomba, but the device is worth it's weight in gold. It's up there in the elite tier of utility along with YouTubeTV's Key Plays on sporting events, the rabbit wine opener, and the 2nd ice maker on my fridge.

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With hardwood on the first floor, and a dog, we just set it to run every weekday at 7:30 am. Perfect for keeping dog hair swept up.

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probably just another real jerk in life

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