I'm not sure what 'layout' issues you are referring to, but I'm not a Mac user and I have trouble adjusting to any laptop keyboard. I'm guessing that the layout issue is that you need four bucky keys to the left of the space bar and two to the right, instead of 3/4? Or is the location of the arrows and lack of the right half also critical?
EDIT: Mechanical keyboards can be tactile, noisy, both, or neither, depending on the specific nature of the switch. Which are important to you?
EDIT 2: What feature does the Matias Tactile Pro 3 keyboard lack that a 'gaming' keyboard would have?
What's a "bucky key"...? (Edit: I see you were referring to this probably. Interesting, hadn't heard the term before) Anyway, there are several layout issues. I'm pretty picky when it comes to keyboard layout. Um, let's see. Correct number and layout of modifier keys (Control Option Command Spacebar Command Option Control; anything else is incorrect); correct numpad layout (18 keys, not 17, with Enter and 0 being the only two large ones); presence of volume control and eject keys above the numpad; shape of Return key (one-row height, not two-row)...
Thus spake Eliezer:
It seems that many here might have outlandish ideas for ways of improving our lives. For instance, a recent post advocated installing really bright lights as a way to boost alertness and productivity. We should not adopt such hacks into our dogma until we're pretty sure they work; however, one way of knowing whether a crazy idea works is to try implementing it, and you may have more ideas than you're planning to implement.
So: please post all such lifehack ideas! Even if you haven't tried them, even if they seem unlikely to work. Post them separately, unless some other way would be more appropriate. If you've tried some idea and it hasn't worked, it would be useful to post that too.