Thanks. I might do just that. Will have to wait a bit because I was trying to get a nice set for my friends from TVS but things are looking bad in terms of courier shipment prices and I'm not getting a reply to my question about using the plain post instead. By contrast, USPS makes it $50 for one, $96 for 5. And I'd be getting 6 or 7, so the shipment fee could become manageable. But, some guy in Poland is supposedly selling old Dells with Alps for $11 apiece, so I'd be getting all I could off him first instead.
I wouldn't mind a shallower space bar, I think, but the texture changing midway is kinda odd indeed.
Non-wiggly keys is important information to me as well. My Lexmark IBM has keys that wiggle a bit. They don't sit 100% straight even without touching anyway and the keyboard has been used so little you could wonder if it has broken in yet.