Hi Ive been using normal keyboards and my Lenovo E15 laptop keyboad for the last few years and its starting to wear me out. At an old job, years ago I could get a ergo keyboard and mouse (Generally Logitech and Microsoft) and that helped a little but felt basic and releativly flimsy compared to a heavy mechaincal keyboard. At that time I could not get a MEK (mechaical Ergo Keyboard) cause they were very rare and expensive.
I like Mechanical, I like some Split (my arms/sholders are about 20 inches apart), I like ergo shaping. I love the idea of macros and layers and primarly use my Logitech G600 mouse for that. Ive looked at things like Dygma and it looks great as a keyboard.... but still have to reposition my self to move my mouse... I want to eliminate that.
I am looking for a split mechanicical ergo keyboard that includes all of the awesome SMEK features that also incorporates a thumbstick or trackball or multitouch or somthing simialr on the left AND right sides. Would be cool if one would be rapid travel while the other is detail travel or some other layer shift for other funtions as well, like zoom, scroll and such. I doubt I would get that lucky.
I dont really have the expertise or time to build a keyboard myself, but would be willing to work with a custom builder if needed.
for ref: I work form home (about 10 hour/day) and I'm spend a lot of time in browsers and in code and mild video/image edititing. mostly annotating as well as system adminitration. Also a little gaming, but not really a primary factor.
In general, I’m not sure how easy it is to have multiple pointing devices? For the example you give of a coarse and fine pointing, the most common solution is to have keys that switch between coarse and fine pointing on a single trackball. I’m not sure if QMK can support two pointing devices at once (without significant customization).
For single pointing devices, I’d check https://bastardkb.com/ . They are also very slick devices, but can get pricy.