Prism99

I agree about the laminate and area rugs.

I have a Neato instead of a Roomba. These are great for hard floors. They do a lot for carpeting, but you need to understand that they will pick up only surface particles from carpets; you still need to do a regular vacuuming once in awhile to pull up particles from deeper in the carpet. We have pets and the Neato is great at keeping pet hair under control; however, there is still a gradual buildup of pet hair on the carpets so that eventually I have to use the regular vacuum on them.

In terms of allergies, there is no comparison -- hard floors are always going to win out over wall-to-wall carpeting, especially if you are using a vacuuming robot. The only time I need to use a Swiffer on the hardwood floors is in tight areas where the Neato can't squeeze in.

Edit: Regarding feet, it is imperative to wear good shoes in the house if you have hard floors. My current indoor shoe is an Alegria sandal that has wonderful cushioning. When we first moved in here, my feet were in pain from walking on the hard floors without shoes. Haflingers with cork soles made all the difference. Unfortunately, Haflingers no longer work for me. They are now made in a variety of East European countries (instead of solely in Germany), and although they look the same the quality varies now depending on where they are made. Also, they changed from all-cork soles to a cork/plastic composite that does not provide enough cushioning for me. Anyway, my point is that the right shoes can compensate for the hardness of floors.