I'm a Dyson convert... am on #2 now, after selling the DC01 to a friend. It's 7 years old now and still going strong. We've now gone for the smaller design instead of the upright one - think it's DC07, it's the animal one where the hose can be wrapped round the cylinder for storage.
I think Dyson gave the entire vacuum industry the kick up the arse that it needed. He deserves a
just for that!
As for the design, erm... ours isn't so bad. The 1st one was De Stijl, which was very funky, but at the end of the day it's all about whatever floats yer boat, and I like our new one - but I gotta say that Vax are just downright ugly, and Henry's are stoopid!