this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
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Troubled robot vacuum-cleaner maker iRobot, abandoned by Amazon after regulators effectively doomed the web giant's takeover offer, has warned investors it may not survive the next 12 months.

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[–] [email protected] 63 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Oof, as an American company the rest of the world is boycotting them too.

Yup, they are toast. I dont think the Americans have realized how much permanent damage Trump has caused.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Democrats have known from the moment he was elected. Republicans are starting to figure it out now that they are feeling the effects. Of course, they were the ones who caused it so....

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago (4 children)

They're really not though, maga fascists, actually believe this is a mere speed bump on the way to the promised land...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah but will they still believe that in 4 years? The problem for the republicans now is that they are getting called out by their own voters right now and it's only March of the year 1.

So now they have to tread the fine line of not being too supportive of his policies so that they stand re-election chances while at the same time not being so against the policies as to risk Trump's revenge. It's a very shitty bed they have to lie in, and I almost feel sorry for them, but they deliberately shit in it themselves, so sod them.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

"Many economists are saying that the market was due for a correction..."

I've seen that comment a few times in the last few days. They'll say ANYTHING to support Dear Leader.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago

Not only boycotts, it'll also be a prime target for retaliatory tariffs. So for even those that don't care about the boycott, a Roomba will cost at least 25% more than the equivalent robot vacuum made in Korea.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

They're about to learn about the world stage

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago

I highly doubt his voters will ever realize it. People who voted for him have single digit IQs. Other Americans warned them before hand.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I'm pretty sure somebody will buy the data iRobot robots collected during their cleaning time :-)

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The free market is supposed to make this happen. The problem is that we have also built a system that just generates mountains of junk and e-waste. Because our government is feckless and refuses to actually regulate, ya know, anything with a shareholder attached.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 days ago
[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Will certainly be a bummer if they do go under, I really appreciated their serviceability. Have several in the immediate family that have been going for over 7 years at this point though all kinds of calamities. Each time can I just pop out all the components clean/replace as necessary and get it back in service, good as new.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 days ago

Agree. While I think there's been little effort to evolve their products at the same pace as their competitors, I have very much appreciated their servicability.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 days ago (2 children)

We need decent European alternatives for robot vaccuums.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

We need open source alternatives

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Valetudo, though an absolutely amazing software, is no the replacement I was meaning. I meant we need a fully open source robot, from software to hardware, and that can be adapted. Of course there's always blobs which are not open source, but that's the case already for many things

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (10 children)

It would be great if more smart devices had a LAN-only control mode like my 3D printer, TV and AV receiver.

I would be perfectly happy if my iRobot phone app only worked from inside my network.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Doesn't apply to iRobot but there are lots of robot vacuums that can be flashed with an open firmware with just a USB UART cable: https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html

As for the other devices, my 3D printer, projector and AV receiver are all locally controlled.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

At that point, I wouldn't trust ANY device that cannot be controlled locally, either natively or at least through some hacks.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 3 days ago (3 children)

So the Roomba I bought in 2021 is gonna stop working come 2026... Guess I need an open source vacuum now too 😩

[–] [email protected] 32 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

this comment makes me question, is there an open source sex toy community?
edit: there is lmao https://github.com/PITR-DEV/ukbutt-mod

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Bro .. this is the best response I've ever gotten on Lemmy 🤣🤣🤣 thank you stranger, both fascinating and hilarious

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Thank you stranger! This is great

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago
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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

The movie wasn't very good either

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Well obviously, they need to get into the lucrative back alley robot vacuum cleaner fight rings. Strap on that knife iRobot vacuum, and lets go!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago

https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html

iRobot not even on the list despite being the original de facto vacuum robot OEM

[–] [email protected] 104 points 4 days ago (19 children)

(I know I didn't contribute shit & just complain but) ... isn't it a bit weird how after all this time there arent any good open sauce diy robot kits?

Like, materials, sensors, brushes, filters, batteries, etc are all cheaply available, a basic board could literally be just cut plywood with the rest is the things mounted on top (who even needs a cover?). And ofc one could mount various weapons mod on it.

[–] [email protected] 86 points 4 days ago (7 children)

There is https://valetudo.cloud/ for a lot of existing models, it's about the closest thing we have.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Once they are cut off from the parent company they will go rogue and attack in the night...

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

When I got my first robot vacuum I was too impatient to wait for the battery to fully charge before trying it out so when I started it up it was only able to clean a small area before it had to go back to charge. Very exciting though!

Anyway I went to bed not realizing that once it was fully charged it would resume cleaning. So approximately 1am the vacuum wakes back up and starts cleaning. In my sleep-addled delirious state I had absolutely no idea what the fuck was going on. Suddenly it sounded like there was a jet engine in my room and I couldn't even tell where it was coming from until I jumped out of bed and there were red lights coming at me.

Saw my life flash before my eyes. Little fucker might as well have been a terminator.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Haha. Ofc with these prices and features compared to some other good Chinese and other brands roomba is doomed. Like check vacuum wars on YT. Middle model roombas are on par with your typical Chinese brand robots but price is double. Basically, you pay for a brand 🤷.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago (6 children)

I will check them out later! I've been wanting a robot vacuum for a while now but I also am wary of Chinese bullshit.

I want a really good one that doesn't connect to the internet in any way. 👍🏻 Even if that kills some of its smart features.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 4 days ago (6 children)

I'm a bit of a diy and repair nerd for damned near anything. I have a near 20 year old roomba 530 model that still works great. Back then and for a good many years roombas were hands down the best bang for your buck. I haven't recommended them for the past decade. They fell behind in ability and build quality. Let alone any of the privacy concerns stuff. Damned shame.

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 4 days ago (12 children)

Their products require their app, would this effectively turn their devices useless when the servers die?

I know it supports a single button to start cleaning, but I wonder if that will work properly without being able to call home.

Might be time for people to look for alternatives.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 4 days ago (3 children)

It technically still works without the app but it loses features that increase the efficiency of the map, tells it where not to clean, scheduled cleaning, etc.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Another company squandering their patents and market advantage. Reminds me of TiVo.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 days ago

Their products are like 5 years behind their competitors. It's inevitable.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 days ago

So my vacuum will likely not work in 12 months. Niiiice.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 4 days ago

my first thought was aren't they a part of the Military Industrial Complex, how could they possibly go bankrupt? It turns out they sold off that part of their business in 2016 to private equity. Oops.

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