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Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

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Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#361

Post by vjvjvjvjghv »

wccrawford wrote: post #283
vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems to be a problem with many companies. Chinese companies are innovating aggressively while others don’t. You see that with 3d printers where Bambu is kicking ass. I remember when GoPro did a drone and it simply wasn’t good. Or American carmakers are trying to turn back the clock on electric instead of embracing it.

The funny thing is that Bambu didn't innovate. They just made it work really, really well. I've owned a few 3d printers, including a kit printer, and the Bambu doesn't have any tech that other printers don't. They just always work well, and are easy to maintain. Others are finally catching up, though. Snapmaker really scared them with the U1 (which is getting insane reviews), and Prusa has finally stepped up and star…

“The funny thing is that Bambu didn't innovate. They just made it work really, really well. ”

That’s basically Apple’s MO

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#362

Post by spockz »

mosura wrote: post #296
wccrawford wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The funny thing is that Bambu didn't innovate. They just made it work really, really well. I've owned a few 3d printers, including a kit printer, and the Bambu doesn't have any tech that other printers don't. They just always work well, and are easy to maintain. Others are finally catching up, though. Snapmaker really scared them with the U1 (which is getting insane reviews), and Prusa has finally stepped up and star…

> The funny thing is that Bambu didn't innovate. They just made it work really, really well. Everything wrong with the western tech academic/industrial complex in two sentences.

Being that “Making something work really,really well” isn’t seen as innovation?

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#363

Post by binkHN »

delfinom wrote: post #340
nrhrjrjrjtntbt wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dont be. Source: tried roborock and dream. They are both useless because you spend so much time troubleshooting it dealing with stuck issues you may as well get the cheap vac out.

I have used Roborock for ~7 years and now own 3 of them (different floors/areas). Absolutely no issues.

Largely the same here; as long as do regular maintenance on them to keep them relatively clean, clean out hair and related, they just run.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#364

Post by binkHN »

whatsupdog wrote: post #76
olivierlacan wrote: post #34

If you've used any non-iRobot vacuum alternatives in the last 5 years and ever owned a Roomba in the past there should be nothing surprising about this headline. It's shocking to me how good Roborock mop-vacuums are for example, Eufy vacuums are nice as well. They still run into unavoidable issues, but they're: much quieter even at their highest setting; show you how they map out the space; allow you to easily custom…

I second your option about Roborock. Also Dreame. Although I use both of them after rooting with Valetudo and connecting to my home assistant.

Which one do you like better and why?

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#365

Post by fny »

I'm all for antitrust, but it's a shame the Amazon acquisition was blocked.[0]

iRobot was in a distressed state then, and immediately laid of 1/3 of staff when the deal fell through. I knew a survivor of that mess. Now this.

0: https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/29/24034201/amazon-irobot-ac...

0: https://archive.is/rBn7z

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#366

Post by fullstop »

georgeecollins wrote: post #304
cs702 wrote: post #254

According to the Financial Times, Roomba has sold more than 40 million robotic devices, most of them robotic vacuum cleaners.[a] Many of those vacuum cleaners have cameras, can move around on their own, and are connected to the Internet. If they're taken offline, they stop working. Many have microphones too. The new Chinese owner will get control of a network of tens of millions Internet-connected, autonomously mobil…

I worry a lot about privacy in general but its hard for me to figure out the danger posed by my roborock. I suppose it has the floor plans of my house and knows we vacuum on Saturdays. It doesn't seem to know if the object passing by is me or my cat. Yes its on my wifi but so are half a dozen other foreign made gadgets. What is the concern?

... and my floor plan is available online through public records

With that being said, I specifically got a roborock device with only LiDAR and no camera just in case.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#367

Post by nobodyandproud »

darkwater wrote: post #255
nobodyandproud wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any idea why they just sat on the product? Even today, I feel the product is unmatched. Zero creep factor (ignoring later cloud offering)..

Well, I don't know how much you can innovate in that space, while keeping things reliable for decades like Vorwerk does. I own a (2n hand) TM31 that's probably 15 years old now, and I have friend with the TM21 (I guess?) which is like the first version and it has over 20 years now and it's still perfectly working. Last versions, with big LC touchscreen, recipes on a cartridge o downloaded from Internet, and now I rea…

Not all innovation or value offerings are technical, though admittedly it's what first drew me in.

Example: I buy an iPhone over the competition because it's a superior experience. Their walled-garden (RIP) made for a less appealing attack vector than Android, their commitment to privacy is real (a reflection of Tim Cook), and how they as a company project those values against government entities are all positives.

Before then, I never imagined buying Apple products; and always believed they were overpriced (in many respects, yes) but there are other harder-to-quantify benefits.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#368

Post by intrasight »

anymouse123456 wrote: post #305
kqr wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our household (and I suspect many with us) bought a Roomba specifically to not give the Chinese government a roving camera in our home. Ouch!

This! I was a very early customer of Roomba and loved them when they came out. I had pets at the time, and the machine would consistently fail in about 14 months. I finally figured out that I needed to buy them from Costco, so that I could get them replaced. Rather than taking their lead and improving the product, they just sat there with the exact same product for like 10+ years. It was outrageous. I guess Rodney Br…

Rodney Brooks is first and foremost a scientist. I doubt that he had a hand in the operations and planning at Roomba.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#369

Post by dwa3592 »

It was bound to happen. I had bought two different robo vaccums at two different times (in 2022[irobot], then 2025[eufy], both upwards of $400) - they both were pretty terrible and I ended up returning both of them. I can't believe people are still using these things. They get stuck when there is no reason to get stuck, they miss dirt that should be picked up.

Re: Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges

#370

Post by nutjob2 »

AlecSchueler wrote: post #242
mlrtime wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then the Chinese end up stealing any actual IP that may get the US company ahead by being there. Also, is it still difficult to bring profits back to the US? Damn'd if you do, dam'd if you don't.

Why do American companies have to rely on artificial protections like IP in order to compete? Don't forget it's only "stealing" if you're culturally inclined to see IP as actual property, whereas in China the idea has long been that ideas are common good, even predating Marxism.

> artificial protections

Everything is an artificial protection by your standard. Laws are written for a reason.

IP is an incentive to develop the IP in the first place. Why would anyone sink huge amounts of money into developing IP if a competitor can just wait and then take it for itself.

And if its such a good idea, why hasn't China been a superpower for so long? America and Europe have been creating and innovating for centuries and millennia. In recent decades China has risen by replicating the West's technology and techniques. Where would China right now be without the West? What is the plan to surpass the West without someone else supplying the IP? Suddenly China is going excel at something at something they haven't done? Japan is instructive because they rose economically in a similar fashion.

A key difference is that the West are liberal democracies and there is strong evidence that freedom and a cosmopolitan society promotes innovation.

Which system is better isn't hard to spot. The naivete of some here is incredible.

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