Maybe some of our Canadian guys can pipe in about Swift's non-proprietary claim. (Try buying parts there)
And as a side note I believe Swift's fault trapping and playback of I/O on the Futura/Meridia product is something every manufacturer ought to have.
But the serial link has a ways to go.
And their biggest drawback is that for every Swift unit put in, you're basically putting in money into TK's pockets. And I know of no other Competitors out there that relish that thought.
Personally I think Swift has gone down a little since the buyout, and the same with Motion since some recent management changes.
Try one of these...
http://www.swiftcec.com/resources/documents/manuals/5000/swift5000_startup.pdfSounds good in theory, but the above documentation is all you get. They fail to tell you about the modified DAR card, in the writeup, and a few other things. They will offer to fly down for $1500 a day, but if you persist enough they will make you another specialized DAR and hold you hostage till you prove that's the problem.
Similar stuff with Motion. Willing to fly down at a drop of a hat for $1500 a day, plus expenses, but with no guarantee that they will fix anything.
I know of NO OEM's who, send a field engineer out that doesn't guarantee they will fix it.
