iRobot's Roomba 870 (left) will have new competition next year from Dyson's 360 Eye (right). Source: iRobot, Dyson.

With Dyson set to launch its first-ever robotic vacuum next year, you'd think the folks atiRobot Corporation would be sweating bullets today. Dubbed the "360 Eye," Dyson promises its slick-looking machine will have "the strongest suction of any robot vacuum."

Home Robots currently serve as the primary driver of iRobot's growth amid an increasingly difficult environment for defense spending. And within that, Roomba alone generates a whopping 85% of iRobot's total sales. But while iRobot has faced dozens of ambitious competitors since introducing its first Roomba more than 12 years ago, none enjoy the same levels of spirited innovation and consumer confidence as Dyson.

iRobot management claims it's relatively unconcerned. In fact, iRobot actually appearsexcited for Dyson's impending entry into its core market.

Speaking at the NASDAQ OMX 31st Investor Program earlier this week, iRobot CFO Alison Dean gave three reasons why iRobot isn't worried: 

1. This isn't a stealth attack

This is something we expected. [Dyson] has been vocal about the fact they've been working on a robotic vacuum cleaner for many years. In fact, we understand they were ready to launch one a few years ago, and pulled it at the last minute for reasons we're not 

More at source: Fool.com

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A judge has ordered a Fairfield business owner to pay the town more than $28,000 for not cleaning up his property over the last few months.

He still faces a week in jail, too.

Robert Dale owns Maine 201 Antiques.

Earlier this year, he was court-ordered to clean up the yard in front of the business and bring the building up to code by the middle of March.

A judge agreed with the town Dale still hasn’t done that, despite numerous extensions.

The $28,369 penalty covers fines, court fees and legal fees.

Dale was previously sentenced to a week in jail over the issue, too.

The town’s lawyer says the judge could decide whether to enforce that at a hearing in January.

More at source: Channel 5 CBS

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A work crew finishes up cleaning the Bill Cosby star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after it was defaced by graffiti in Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce wrote in a statement that it hoped people upset with Cosby would find different ways to express themselves than vandalism. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) The Associated Press

More at source: U-T San Diego

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Nissan has developed a paint that hen applied on your car repels everyday dirt, water and spray from light off-roading as well as the muck that your car is covered in after a long drive. According to Nissan, paying someone to get your car cleaned or cleaning it at all will become a thing of the past thanks to the newly developed paint that they have developed.

Nissan calls this technology ‘Ultra-Ever Dry’ which is a kind of paint that resist mud, water and dust to settle on the paint. The technology has been tested on a Nissan Note at the European Technical Centre owned by Nissan and the short video below will show you just how impressive the results are and how revolutionary this magical paint can be.

More at source: India.com

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MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. — First Lt. Dawn Sanderson, a 25-year-old nuclear officer who works 24-hour shifts in the Air Force's underground missile-launch command posts, admits that there is a funny smell down there. "It's not even a bad smell, it's just a different smell," she says. "My wife says she can smell it on my clothes," said Capt. Derek Arnholtz, another Air Force launch officer at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. "It's a brine smell," said Maj. John Hundley, who said he believes the faint odor derives from the salt solution used in the antiquated climate-control system. 

More at source: Military Times

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An Indian Wells Country Club employee was transported to Eisenhower Medical Center after being overcome by hazardous fumes while trying to clean an ice machine.

The Riverside County Environmental Health Hazardous Materials Branch responded to the Friday incident and found no hazardous conditions based on monitoring equipment readings. Officials still used fans to ventilate the room.

According to county officials, the employee, in response to a recent health inspection, was cleaning the ice machine using Nu-Calgon liquid cleaner that contains Phosphoric Acid and is known to cause burns to the eyes, skin and mucous membranes.

More at source: Desert Sun

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The POWERbot is Samsung’s newest, and by far its most powerful, robotic vacuum cleaner. It’s not exactly small, but it’s far more compact than any full-size canister or upright Dyson or Miele or similar. Although the company has one upright listed on its size, robots are Samsung’s specialty, and the $1499 POWERbot VR900 is its best autonomous vacuum cleaner yet. Its defining feature is a revamped digital motor undefined 60 times the suction of “conventional” ‘bots undefined and a cyclonic design that promises no loss of suction as the dust collector fills up.

The majority of the POWERbot’s chassis is taken up by that central, cylindrical vacuum motor and dust bin. Behind that in the VR9000′s circular body is the 60-minute battery pack, and ahead of it is its front-mounted array of sensors and circuitry, including a novel upward-and-forward-facing digital camera sensor for room and roof mapping and forward-firing ultrasonic sensors for obstacle tracking and avoidance.

More at source: Giz Modo

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 No longer is collecting trash from the streets a painstaking process for janitors in the Jubail Industrial City, as the Hygiene Department at the Royal Commission for Jubail (RCJ) has begun using a more modern machine that sucks trash from the roads in a very innovative and economical manner.

The commission is trialling this machine for the first time in Jubail Industrial city. The machine saves effort, time and money and is eco-friendly because it does not produce carbon, and because it also has filters to prevent dust emissions during the suction process.

Engineer Manie'e Al-Harshan, director of the department, said that using the new equipment complements the efforts of the Royal Commission for Jubail in providing excellent services to the highest international standards in the field of hygiene. Al-Harshan said that the new equipment offers a substitute for the manual work of six laborers, as it is able to cover and clean 50-60 kilometers per day. The machine raises the level of productivity and the optimal utilization of resources greatly in comparison to the time required for workers to clean the streets manually.

More at source: Yahoo

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Unless you've mastered the clean-as-you-go approach to hosting, the aftermath of a dinner party can feel a lot like the hangover that comes with it -- fond memories of a great time overshadowed by the stomach-churning odor of dirty dishes in your kitchen sink. And let's not talk about that molten mess you left crystalizing behind your oven door.

Short of hiring someone to clean for you, there's only one other way to handle this madness: By keeping that door shut and letting your oven clean itself. But how does that self-cleaning mechanism work, anyway?

We went to an appliance pro, Consumer Reports' deputy home editor, Celia Kuperszmid-Lehrman, for answers.

HuffPost Home: How exactly does the feature work?
Celia Kuperszmid-Lehrman: Typically, this cycle uses high heat to burn off spills and spatters in the oven. An automatic safety lock on self-cleaning models prevents the oven door from being opened until the oven has cooled. Some models have a countdown display that shows the time left in the cycle.

More at source: Huffington Post

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ELBERT COUNTY – A 43-year-old Westminster man is accused of charging an elderly woman who suffers multiple health conditions $55,000 for carpet cleaning services that didn't happen.

Spencer Olguin operates a carpet cleaning business called Prestige Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning. According to the Elbert County Sheriff's Office, Olguin made multiple trips to the victim's home and collected checks for carpet cleaning services that were never actually offered.

The victim is legally blind and suffers from multiple other ailments, the Sheriff's Office says.

ECSO investigators say Olguin declined to present documentation supporting the fees. He was arrested on Friday and is currently being held in the Adams County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Video and more at source.

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