Well gee, maybe they were given a "talking to" by one or more of the companies.  Maybe they realized that they could be held responsible for what they posted.
 
I believe that two young people were arrested, because of what they posted on this same site(on an unrelated topic).
 
People are watching.  I already know that some people are swayed because of what they saw.  This gives more anno to these companies, for example, if they have to fight to remove a youtube.com clip or to take bigger legal action.

IBM announced a lawsuit today against Amazon.com for..........................copyright infringement of IBM products and terms on its website.  The amount of the lawsuit is expected to be VERY high.  Details to be released tomorrow.  
 
IBM stock has done well recently and Amazon stock has not, loosing over 35 percent of its value in the last year due to falling slaes and profits.  The IBM lawsuit will hurt Amazon financially and operationally even more.
 
Carmine D.

Dyson Takes the Gold in Bagless Vacuums
 
Source: Wall Street Journal, Thursday Nov 9, 2006
 
Personal Journal: Home and Family
 
Shopping Around/Vacuum Cleaners  
by Sara Schaefer Munos
 
In a match off of 3 of today's top bagless vacuums: The Shark Infinity (Red and Teal), the HOOVER WT 2 Complete and Dyson Absolute, the top rated for design and maneuverabilty goes to the dyson DC17.
 
All the tested models did well in the cleaning tests.  The Infinity gets kudos for its light weight and design which make it easy to carry.  It lost points because it was hard to click it into the upright position.
 
HOOVER gets kudos for the self-cleaning filter, but loses points for its size (not suited for apartment usage) and the dirt fall out from the filter when the dirt bin is removed.
 
Dyson DC17 gets the nod for the easiest of the 3 to use and the best in design and maneuvering.
 
BUT..............as the article cogently explains:  With the prices of the Infinity at $199-$249, the HOOVER WT 2 at $299-and up and the DC17 at $549, dyson is facing competition by brands that promise the same strong suction using similar technology at a lower price.  Imitators can be significantly cheaper than the real thing.
 
Carmine D.

Quote from Trilobite on 11/11/06 at 5:50pm:

 Dyson already has the technology as evidenced by all of the others copying it.  Dyson once again proves that lower pricing does not make the best machine.  Maybe consumers will recognize that.

Dyson's biggest asset is its word of mouth advertising.  Nothing that Hoover or others can do will reverse this trend. ONCE SOMEONE BUYS A DYSON, they tell others about it. And, they call it by name.
It's a rare day that people can tell you what brand of vacuum they own, most people don't know and don't care.  Until they have to buy bags (or filters or belts).  Then, its a big deal to find out which machine they have.  I've had more people than I can count bring back the 'wrong' bags because they themselves were the problem in not knowing what machine to get bags for.
 
Dyson's profits are just fine.  Even though Carmin would like it not to be so.
 
And yes, everyone else is copying Dyson's technology.  To say "we're just like Dyson" implies that dyson has been BETTER all along.  Which is has been.  And now, with its new technology (level 3 cyclones) they have taken a huge leap forward.  
 
All the 'me too' companies have is a copy of the best.  And not even a good copy.  Some, like the Infinity from Shark, don't work properly.  Some, like the Bissell Healthy Home, are middling at filtration.  But some, like the LG Iridium, are EXCELLENT.  Good thing James doesn't care a thing about canisters (his mother had an upright).  The bread and butter is in uprights.