well... my tact witch is still going strong - i resoldered it myself the first day i got my protege - literally broke it a few hours from the time i got it. took it home, setup my soldering shop, got it done. worked perfectly since. i also exploded the little housing on the switch (the tact switch housing) in the process and was able to get it back together.
i think i had 7 days on my signature ticker when that happened.
but to make sure it never happens again the mechanical switch is a must. i think there is even a way to do a solderless resistor with a real resistor in there. that if the resistor ever burned up it would be super easy to replace it.