More to Middle Earth than imagined

Games
Just in time for Great Depression 2.0:

Westwood-based Turbine (it's at www.turbine.com) last week launched a game that will keep you busy for as long as you can keep the lights on.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is the first expansion pack for Turbine's massively multiplayer online game about hobbits, wizards, and whatnot.

LOTRO: Mines of Moria shows there is even more to Middle Earth than MMO players could have imagined.

With the expansion pack, you can trek through new underground cities, forge new weapons, and fight new villains through 10 new levels.

You can also create characters within two new classes: Rune-keeper (which sounds like an important job) and Warden.

The LOTRO: Mines of Moria expansion pack is about $40 at GameStop.

For twice that amount, you can get the collector's edition, which comes with a cloth map and your very own ring.

home robotics

New Roomba's pricey, but cleans better

Why buy a Dyson when, for the same money (give or take a few bucks), you can buy a robot to do your vacuuming? IRobot's Roomba 610 Professional Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot, with its gleaming, painted finish and its gentler-sounding "off to the races" chime, looks and sounds classy enough to be priced at $550-plus.

More importantly, it's as much a workhorse as the other iRobot (www.irobot.com) vacuums - and a bit smarter.

Even if you've been disappointed (as I have) by another Roomba, the 610 is worth a serious look.

The 610 is gentler on woodwork, furniture, and power cords than iRobot's earlier models.

And it's a joy to watch: It speeds up on straight-aways, and slows to a crawl when it nears walls and other large obstacles. It spins quickly around the grungy spots on your floors. It pops effortlessly over thresholds and hugs the edges of rugs to do a more thorough cleaning job.

The 610 is also less likely to twist cords into its brushes than the Red or 400 Series Roombas.

It has none of the boundary issues my other Roombas have had. For example, rather than plow through the French doors in our living room, to wreck my girls' cartoon viewing, the 610 taps gently, and recognizes the doors as part of its perimeter.

IRobot includes two Virtual Wall Lighthouses with the 610. The battery-operated infrared devices keep the cleaner in a single room until it is fully vacuumed, and then guide the robot into an adjoining room.

The 610 also comes with a large sweeper bin (which does not accommodate a filter), for bigger messes. It also has improved brushes and filters.

I suppose nothing will beat your HEPA-filtered vacuum at sucking up dust and allergens. But a buddy of mine reports that his 610 does a splendid job of picking up cat hair and dander, as do Robot's Pet Series models (which cost $100 less than the 610).

gifts under $100

Protecting your iPhone gets more important each day

Now that third-party apps for the iPhone are pouring in, protecting the device from harm is becoming more important than ever.

After all, iPhone owners are guarding not only their phones from wear and tear, but also their Internet browsers, gaming consoles, photo archives, personal navigators, and fitness monitors.

The $99 Liquid, from ElementCase (www.elementcase.com) is one of the more customizable iPhone cases I've seen.

You can choose from several colors and stenciled patterns for the case's base plate and cover when you order your case at the Element site.

The Liquid is a hard case with a translucent flip lid, which makes the iPod look a like the chunky communicators the Enterprise crew used in the original "Star Trek" pilot episode.

The Liquid fits both 3G and classic iPhones.

Element is also developing magnetic accessories for dashboard mounts, armbands, and an expandable battery back for the iPhone.