Ya gotta know, with respect only to Rick's first sentence, Rick hasn't been keeping up on his meds. I too slip on mine once in a while. So, what else is new?
My personal opinion DOES NOT support Siemens, per se. But rather, the company that Siemens bought out (At least, the PLC division that they bought out), that is TI (Texas Instruments). TI decided at the git-go, to make the interface, between operator and processor, in favor of the human element - namely, you and me.
Siemens DOES NOT DO SO!
The S7-200 series is a TI product, while the S7-300 & S7-400 is OBVIOUSLY a Siemens product.
The difference in programming philosophy is GLARING!
Then WilWil67 responds and Mike says... "Right answer". So Mike, what the hell are you doing? Chumming?
Tom came up with the right answer, as far as I'm concerned. None of those product manufacturers out there produce the best products over-all. I certainly can say that AB makes a terrible drive!
Each, for whatever reason, has stumbled onto a good design for one product or another. AB makes a very good, albeit, unreasonably expensive push button. I have come to appreciate GE PB's more!
It's up to the designer to pick and choose carefully!
Finally, Ken makes an interesting point. A point that is real enough that I'll have to ponder it for a while. I can't, and will not, simply discard his point based on politcal correctness.