Vacuum
Our old vacuum wasn't working out very well for us so we picked up a Dyson Allergy model. It is truly a device designed by a geek for geeks. The wordless pictorial instructions rival Ikea's and remind me of the emergency card from a commercial airliner. Unfortunately I missed some fine details of the already installed attachments on the pictures, so initially I was at a loss for what to do with the six attachments it came with. After vacuuming the hall I removed the canister and suddenly noticed the three attachment points on the back. A bit of jigsaw puzzle action later with the attachments and I had two installed, but couldn't figure out the last. After mulling over it while vacuuming the second room I tried each of the remaining four tools several times until I figured it out. The other three tools are bonus items so they don't get to ride. Not only does it vacuum, but it keeps me entertained.
As for the canister design, it was one of the major features I wanted. For starters, unlike most vacuums it opens on the bottom, where all the dirt already is, avoiding having to agitate it and create dust by flipping it over and shaking. It opens by pressing a button on the carrying handle, so you just hold it where you want to dump the dirt and press. Speaking of dust, the filter system in our old vacuum was the worst designed part of it. Every time the canister filled up I would have to remove the cartridge filter and beat it against a tree or the ground to get the fine dust out of it. Without this step the vacuum wouldn't work well at all. Solving this problems is Dyson's biggest selling point, that it won't loose suction, and it's worth it. Another moment that made me think this was designed by a geek was when I realized there was dust trapped in the upper part of the canister, and I thought "Gee it would be great if this outer piece came off so I could clean up here." A quick check and I found a latch to perform that very function. This latch is not in the manual. I went back to specifically look for it. It's a special, personal gift from Mr. Dyson himself for those who are observant.
Anyway, it does a wonderful job! I was appalled at the two full canister loads of cat hair dust balls it pulled up, just in the hallway and dining room, and it hasn't been that long since we last vacuumed. I was impressed as it shredded crackers and Cheerios with ease. I was happy when it didn't smoke, smell or really even complain when it wrapped a pair of baby pajamas around the brush and went into auto-shutdown (it detects a brush obstruction and turns it off instantly). Did I mention it's about half the size and weight of the old vacuum? The wand is about the only weird thing but I think I'll like it as I learn to use it. You basically grab the topmost piece of the vacuum and pull, and it extends up, eventually separating from the unit and resulting in a three foot metal wand with a good bit of hose behind it. Kind of like Aurthur pulling the sword from the stone, just with more rubber hose. No longer will I struggle with assembling several tubes together to perform this task!