It’s long been Apple’s attitude, some might say its raison d’etre, to lead rather than to follow. And the iPad will lead the way and be the first step in a massive move away from the traditional computer and, perhaps more importantly, the traditional internet.

Currently the traditional internet is accessed via a traditional computer, laptop or desktop, using a traditional keyboard. Sure, there are exceptions to this rule but just as I am typing this on an Apple iMac, I am certain, having checked my stats, that around 95% of you are reading it sitting in front of something with a keyboard. And that setup governs how everyone uses the internet.

How popular would Google be, for instance, if traditional keyboards didn’t exist? If, as some futurists used to predict, we were all now accessing the internet via flat panels on the front of the refrigerator how much time would be spent typing, let alone typing search queries?

No where near as much. No where near.

I see the iPad as the start of a shift towards task centred computing and task centred internet usage.

Much has been made of the lack of ports on the new Apple iPad. But that is, I think, all part of the strategy.

The same complaints and concerns were heard when the iMac dared to drop the floppy drive. No one seems to worry too much about that anymore, do they?

Apple has always been moving closer and closer to what some people refer to as the cloud. And the iPad will have no problem whatsoever interfacing with your cloud, or the cloud, or a number of clouds, or whatever cloud computing becomes. Indeed, as I said yesterday, I already have an iPad on order simply because it enables me to do something that other devices don’t enable me to do. I will use it to access PDF copies of music, either from it’s own drive or from my cloud. My iPad will replace my traditional scores.

I’ll still keep my original scores. But I won’t use them, not when my iPad arrives. Why would I?

Google should be afraid. In fact, everyone heavily invested in the current traditional internet should be afraid.

If internet usage moves from the traditional computer to a tablet based device what are the implications for blogging? Will people be as eager to comment on blog posts if they have to pull up an overlay keyboard that obscures the screen? Will people change their attitude towards blog advertising as screen real estate becomes increasingly tight? And, with all of this in mind, how will advertisers react when they see that more and more of their advertisements are being served on devices that are not conducive to clicks?

Will bloggers even continue to write as many blogs if the keyboard becomes less and less standard? Furthermore, since it is likely that businesses won’t replace their traditional computers with an Apple iPad but individuals might, could this be the beginning of the end of personal blogging?

The Apple iPad could change everything, perhaps not on it’s own, but it will be a tipping point for a new kind of internet access and internet usage. And making the iPad a closed environment is only a bad thing if you don’t like what is coming down the track.

What do you think?

Will the Apple iPad herald a seismic shift in computer and internet usage? Or am I putting too much faith in Apple’s ability to really change things?

After all, it’s not the like the iPod had any impact on the music industry at all. That was just another flash in the pan device that didn’t change anything at all, wasn’t it?