They are complaining about the Amiga being unreliable, but to me it seems the only parts that are problematic are external peripherals:
1. Mouse; replaced twice in 20 years (probably only needed a cleaning)
2. Monitor; heck, if they really can't get an Amiga compatible monitor, then any CRT or LCD TV with a composite in would probably work using the monochrome output of the A500 (it's actually pretty sharp compared with the A1200s colour composite mode).
3. 1.5 million? Buy a couple more Amiga 500s, or buy a PC and run an Amiga emulator. WinUAE can use the PC's serial port (USB to RS-232 adapters are $3 each online if the PC doesn't have a serial port anymore).
Also, "1200 bit" modem?
We are catching that the 1.5 million is not just to replace the computer. Right? It will actually upgrade all of the control systems in the buildings with modern HVAC controls. The PC that will be set up to control them will likely be under $1K. There are likely to be other advantages to updating the HVAC controls themselves like finer control of boiler settings, etc.
This may result in more comfortable buildings or potentially energy savings.
All that said, look at how long this computer ran continually and the only parts replaced were peripherals as others have said. It made me nostalgic to see another innovative use of Amiga from 30 years ago that no one knew about at the time. Imagine what marketing could have done with that information if they had a clue how to market.
There was no reason that the Amiga could not have taken the entire computer world over, except they didn't know how to sell it's innovative uses.
-Nyle
