I looked down at my iPhone and saw “RIP Steve Jobs” trending on Twitter. I was stunned. @grandmofhelsing tweeted “Countless people are learning Steve Jobs died on devices that would not exist without his vision. That's a legacy.” I couldn’t agree more. For me it was even more poignant, as I was only on Twitter at all because Apple announced it would be integrated in the new iOS 5. I am an Apple fangirl, hook, line and sinker and this news, although not shocking, was devastating.

I hadn’t always been an Apple girl. I grew up using Windows and it wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I even used a Mac for the first time. I was in the market for a new computer and being a conscientious consumer I researched heavily, visited the Apple store and then Best Buy. I was leaning towards a MacBook Pro, but I wanted to give my trusty PC one more chance. I walked up to the nearest Best Buy employee. “I am ready to buy a laptop, but I can’t decide between PC or Mac.” He looked at me and said, “If you are even considering a Mac, get one. You won’t regret it.” I left and drove straight to the Apple store. Thirty minutes later, I walked out the door with my new MacBook Pro while every employee in the store literally applauded.

The Best Buy employee was right. Not only have I never regretted that decision, but it has influenced every other electronics purchase I have made since. In my opinion, Steve Jobs not only developed quality products, he also redefined the position and influences of CEOs and demonstrated the power of relationship branding. I now iMessage on my iPhone, read iBooks on my iPad, iChat on my MacBook Pro, run with my iPod, and for everything else I use iCloud.

Of course, not everyone is as sold out as I. It’s probably better that way! Whether you use Apple products or not, though, we all reap the benefits of Steve Job’s outside-the-box-thinking. He propelled decades of quality competition and new ideas in the market place. The most recent example of this is Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 OS which appears to closely follow Apple's controversial shift toward monochromatic, high contrast icons. They also announced yesterday that they will be releasing an app store called "The Windows Store" to compete with Apple's App Store.

In his lifetime, Steve Jobs revolutionized the industries of personal computers, music players, phones and tablets driving them to new places others had only imagined. His final contribution was to redefine artificial intelligence and bring it from a concept in sci-fi movie into your pocket. Siri debuts today with the release of the iPhone 4S and is expected to commemorate the legacy of Steve Jobs, both conceptually and literally. If you ask her “What’s the best phone?” she will answer “Wait…There are other phones?” I couldn’t have said it better.