# Effing "MEEP" and the Effing Aholes who Designed IT! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182 "2012-12-26T13:55:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/1 "2012-12-26T13:55:11Z")
Yeah - if you’re going to market a techno toy to children, you have a moral obligation to print on the face of the box, in large letters so that ex-husbands with joint custody can’t miss it, “OPEN THIS AND REGISTER IT BEFORE CHRISTMAS BECAUSE IT DON’T DO DICK UNTIL YOU HAVE, AND OUR SYSTEM WON’T BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC FROM 828,000 HAPPY FOOLS ON THE SAME DAY”. And no, I’m not happy about having to load Google Chrome to run it, either. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/2 "2012-12-26T14:03:46Z")
At least you didn’t have to put it together. I’m convinced “some assembly required” means you better have a machine shop in your basement. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/3 "2012-12-26T14:06:27Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > At least you didn’t have to put it together. I’m convinced “some assembly required” means you better have a machine shop in your basement. And they always add a random part, so it will be left over, just to fuck with your head. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/4 "2012-12-26T14:08:38Z")
🙂 I’ve parried with that dragon more than once, and it is a bastard! But at least you can throw recalcitrant parts across the room (and later step on them in the dark with your bare feet). Techno toys can’t be heaved. Their operational issues exist in some cloud somewhere. And the magic they promise to deliver is irresistible to small fry. First-world dilemma, but one guaranteed to raise your blood pressure. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/5 "2012-12-26T14:15:19Z")
Wow, the fb page on this product is SCATHING. Personally I wouldn’t have bought it, based on the negative Amazon reviews. We were burned by eye-color-changing, fingernail-changing Dora years ago, and I swore NEVER AGAIN. Ex-husband was not paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/6 "2012-12-26T14:18:01Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > Wow, the fb page on this product is SCATHING. Personally I wouldn’t have bought it, based on the negative Amazon reviews. > > We were burned by eye-color-changing, fingernail-changing Dora years ago, and I swore NEVER AGAIN. Ex-husband was not paying attention. Or maybe he was? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/7 "2012-12-26T14:19:29Z")
LOL! Good point 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/8 "2012-12-26T14:51:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Effing “MEEP” Are you Pitting the Roadrunner? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/9 "2012-12-26T14:59:51Z")
Yeah, what’s a meep? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/10 "2012-12-26T15:31:17Z")
[Meep!](http://us.oregonscientific.com/cat-Youth-sub-MEEP-prod-Meep!.html) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/11 "2012-12-26T15:37:47Z")
MEEP! is a line of techie toys from Oregon Scientific. Looks like the particular target of ire is an Android-based tablet designed for kids. Particularly cruel is this snippet from the description: **Assembly Requirements: Ready to play** A review on Amazon from mid-November (Well before their servers get pounded on Christmas Day, no less…) sums it up: > [@](#): > > It took me a couple of hours to set it up. This was quite unexpected but i had to get google play and register the MEep, set up all parental controls, etc. Did i mention that i had to also submit to a $1 charge to ‘verify’ i was over 18 when setting it up? Come to find out it was also having a glitch and charged me the same $1 four times! So much that i got a phone call from my bank fraud control department. Sounds like they need to re-name this to \ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/12 "2012-12-26T15:39:14Z")
Meep. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/13 "2012-12-26T15:44:15Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Sounds like they need to re-name this to \ :D:D ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/14 "2012-12-26T15:47:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Meep!](http://us.oregonscientific.com/cat-Youth-sub-MEEP-prod-Meep!.html) > [@NitroPress](#): > > Meep. Zip Bang! ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/15 "2012-12-26T15:51:47Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Are you Pitting the Roadrunner? That’s what I thought at first. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/16 "2012-12-26T16:07:30Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > MEEP! is a line of techie toys from Oregon Scientific. Looks like the particular target of ire is an Android-based tablet designed for kids. Wait, so people are getting pissed off because they were too fucking stupid to realize that you have to set-up a tablet before it will work? Seriously? Damn, this country is getting dumber every damn day. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/17 "2012-12-26T16:09:07Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > At least you didn’t have to put it together. I’m convinced “some assembly required” means you better have a machine shop in your basement. There’s also all of those toys that are secured in the box by multiple cable ties, or for which you need a tiny screwdriver to open the battery compartment. Great fun attempting to do so while the kid in question is anxious to play with the new toy Right Now. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/18 "2012-12-26T16:13:19Z")
> [@akennett](#): > > Wait, so people are getting pissed off because they were too fucking stupid to realize that you have to set-up a tablet before it will work? Wait until the day - almost there… allllmosst there… - when people are surrounded by techware that will not function without a high-speed net connection. I just chuckle at the number of comments from people, probably all under 30, who say “I don’t need [insert traditional tool, function or infobase here] because I have [insert wire, net or cloud-based equivalent here]!” ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/19 "2012-12-26T16:23:48Z")
It’s not the FACT that the toy needs to be set up – it’s the fact that the simultaneous setup of thousands of toys after they have been opened on Christmas morning is not going to happen. It sounds like the system isn’t working for already-registered products, either, so people who bought add-ons for Christmas won’t be adding them any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182/20 "2012-12-26T16:27:40Z")
I thought the OP was pitting the MMPs at first (and those who participate/make them). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effing-meep-and-the-effing-aholes-who-designed-it/645182.md?page=2)