It made me wince when I read on CNN that iRobot is seeking to send more of its military robots, designed to seek and destroy roadside bombs, to Iraq.

I reviewed the company's domestic product, the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, for our erstwhile sister publication >>FFWD. It was easy to make fun of the Roomba: it was round, while the corners of our rooms were square, and possesed a Dalek-like inability to negotiate stairs.

Nevertheless, I probably would have kept the Roomba on as a domestic slave, if it had not been for its lousy engineering. The dust bag was tiny, and frequently fell off. And even when there was space, the Roomba often got tangled and confused around our table and chairs. So: good luck, Marines. I hope you're got smooth, clutter-free roads to play on in Iraq.

For some more agreeable Friday reading, check out Fortune's report on Tesla veteran Ian Wright, who has built the fastest electric car on the planet.