ALERT! Fling that fiery HP Chromebook 11 charger back at Google

Re: Hot stuff

There are no such things as manufactured goods that never experience a catastrophic failure state. None. Not even sticks (wooden dowel rods) escape that fact. The idea is to minimize the overall number of such failures, they'll never be eliminated. Considering the incredible number of consumer electronics products out there it is really impressive there aren't a lot more burning parts.

Also note the CPSC recommendation to halt the sale of the products. That's what they say anytime more than one of anything fails in a way someone could be hurt. They did not force the recall, only recommended it and Google/HP voluntarily recalled the product. It obviously wasn't a serious issue, but Google/HP didn't want the bad press. The voluntary action also means that liability product insurance won't cover the costs of the recall. Insurance only covers recalls if they are government mandated, not if they are voluntary.

Although not wanting bad press isn't exactly altruistic, Google/HP should actually be commended for doing the

right thing and taking care of the products they sold without a judge or government agency forcing them to. This isn't the kind of thing you go firing people over, this is the kind if thing that happens if you're making stuff.