Since appliances are now regulated to be energy efficient, i am sure that in the future we will all be using these machines. I was very pleased to see that my machine cleaned up the doggie bed towels quite nicely! One towel had "spit up" on it...came clean! (Ok, vomit). I used the heavily soiled option on that load.
Technology changes quickly. Think of the car you drove 20-30 years ago and compare it to the features of todays' models. Night and day.
Sandy