Shark eats dirt!(What's New?) (Bagless Stick Shark vacuum cleaner by Euro-Pro Corp.)

* Much to the regret of door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen, the massive machines of yesteryear have given way to a new breed of sleek devices that are lighter, more versatile, and outperform their stodgy older brothers and sisters.

The newest kid on the block is the Bagless Stick Shark imported by Euro-Pro Corp., Champlain, N.Y., which modestly is billed as being two vacuums in one, though we'd swear it does the job of even more. The basic configuration is that of an upright with a telescoping handle that lets you glide it effortlessly over smooth floors and/or carpets, and even back and forth between them without having to change settings. All the dirt that is sucked up goes directly into an easily emptied plastic cup, and, most important, the TapClean HEPA filter traps in excess of 99% of impurities, including allergens and dust. (After all, you'd rather have them in the plastic cup then your lungs.) As the name suggests, all that's required to clean the ultrafine debris screen is to tap the filter against the inside of a trash can.

To clean windowsills, valances, countertops, or other above-the-ground or hard-to-reach places, the Shark converts into a handhold model with a shoulder...