Thanks folks. Keep the info coming.

So far I have learned about Oreck and find there is an outlet near the office. I'll drop by there next week. Also that Dyson looks great but in available everywhere in the world but North America.

'spaw; thanks for the advice and for sharing your experience. I had seen the Fantom brand on TV and wondered about the 'dual cyclonic' stuff. Sounds like it's just more things to go wrong. It's good to know that the bagless models are messy to empty. I'm still inclined to look at them though. I really hate changing the bags and I find that they often get left until they are so full they can't take any more. Jon's story about his mother and the ability to see what's inside seems to fit the usage in this house.

Haven't found a web site for Mila Bill. A search at Google using 'mila vacuum' as the search argument returned a questionable web site at the bottom of the first page. :-)