Is Roomba a boy or a girl? I've found myself calling my Roomba "him." Hmm. But then, I'm a girl, and I like the idea of having a male around the house doing chores. (Yeah, I know. Roomba's get-acquainted demo voice sounds like a girl... Must be his sister. My Roomba's a quiet type.)

One thing's for sure: Roomba is part of the family now. Just like the cats and the kids. At first, I had a few doubts about him, and them (the cats, not the kids). But they've all proven quite lovable. I wouldn't want to give up any one of them.

With two that purr and lose fur, and four who rollick about and get the place in a mess, I'm sure glad to have Roomba in the house. He begins work each day on a cheery note and hums as he goes about vacuuming... while I get on with real work.

Full service is what you get with Roomba. All you do is find a spot for Roomba's home base, give him some initial instructions, put a couple of navigation lighthouses in place and you've got yourself a great little helper. Roomba works diligently, never talks back, and needs only minimal attention.

The iRoomba 610 Professional robot vacuum is the newest addition to the iRobot family. Available since summer 2008, the 610 is the upgrade to last year's 500 models that were already very good.

The 610 can do up to 4 rooms on a single charge, will return and recharge at its home base like the 560 and 570, comes with a handy tool kit in a plastic storage case. The kit includes a second debris bin, replacement brushes and a few simple tools that'll keep your Roomba 610 tuned up for top performance.

Roomba does his job like clockwork. I still have to get the kids to pick up toys and throw dirty socks in the hamper, but Roomba takes care of the rest. He clears out dust bunnies from under beds and sofas, waltzes across all floor types, doesn't get stuck on rug fringes like the early robot vacuums did, puts in extra effort when he finds a really dirty spot, and doesn't fall down stairs.

The cats love Roomba. They look forward to his daily rounds, ever keen to watch him clean.

I hear some people name their Roombas and dress them up for special occasions. Well, I don't believe in spoiling kids, cats or bots. Roomba gets plenty of dirt, dust, debris and the occasional table scrap. He's happy; I'm ecstatic.

I haven't actually gotten rid of my canister vacuum yet. But that day is fast approaching. The old vac has just been sitting idle for six months now, taking up space in the hall closet.

Roomba! Roomba! He's the man! Ra Ra Roomba!