I ran across this argument in a political thread about libertarians.

… the fact that your lap top just went up in flames and distorted a years work product is of little concern. You will get your check for $1000 to replace the Lap Top. You talk to a lawyer You are told it will cost at least $35,000 and maybe 5 years to make a claim for the work product you lost. a work product might have a worth in the Millions but do you have the time and the money to recover the loss …

In your scenario the idiot consumer placed millions of dollars worth of information on a single device with no backups. Even if the battery was well made, the potential for loss of the information is too great to warrant such a risk. I wouldn’t leave that kind of information on any single device.

I would back up new information immediately. At most, a loss of a battery would cost me a day or two of productivity. Today’s wireless devices can backup the data on a laptop without the user doing anything.

No regulation could have completely protected this consumer. He could have experienced a hard drive crash, a theft or some accident with the same result. Passing tons of regulation so this guy doesn’t have to be data conscious is an extreme waste of resources.