You can pretend a broom is a useful way to clean wood and tile floors, but in reality, it just moves the dirt elsewhere. A vacuum is still your best option—but even better than that is a vacuum that floats across scratch-prone hard floors like a hovercraft. Say hello to the aiRider.
In order to create suction, a vacuum has to move a lot of air, which is why there's always a hot blast coming out of some part of a vacuum. With the aiRider, it's directed straight down into a shallow chamber beneath the canister that causes it to effortlessly float on hard floors without scratching them to bits. It's probably less effective at floating on carpets, but no less easy to drag around.
At $250 it's a lot cheaper than a Dyson, and it comes with a mountain of accessories. Besides, the last time we checked there were no hovering models in Dyson's lineup, and clearly that's the real future of cleaning. [aiRide via The Red Ferret Journal]