As tributes pour in for one of the information world’s acknowledged geniuses, we thought it would only be right that we too remembered Steve Jobs for the way he changed computing for so many people.

His death this morning (Singapore time), when he was just 56, marked more than 20 years of endeavour to bring computing to the masses in a fun, accessible and imaginative way.

Not all his decisions and products went well with users, and not everything he touched turned to gold, but there is no doubt the former Apple CEO and founder of a company that created the iMac, iPhone and iPad had a profound influence in the way everyone used their digital gadgets today.

Here are four ways Steve has changed our computing lifestyles.

The way we use our PCs
Apple was the first to bring a graphical user interface (GUI) to the mainstream. For the first time, you didn’t have to know and remember complicated codes and commands just to operate a computer; you simply moved this incredible thing called the mouse cursor, point it at icons which clearly represented what their functions, and click. Computers went from cold, unfriendly machines to one which became the norm in every home – hence the term “personal computers (PCs)”. Bill Gates put a PC on every desk, but Apple made them fun.

The way we listen to music
Back in the Walkman days, did you ever think that some time in the future, you’ll be carrying 3,000 songs in your pocket? Sure, other MP3 players came before the iPod, but these were largely user-unfriendly. With iTunes and iPod, Apple opened our ears to portable music in a friendly and pretty package, with an easy way to edit and curate your music library. The iPod really took off when Apple released iTunes for Windows, proving that being open to other platforms has its benefits. And even though the iTunes Store never really reached countries like Singapore, it brought with it a new model of legal music downloads and an easy alternative to piracy.

The way we thought about smartphones
Whether you belong to the iPhone camp, the Android camp or any other smartphone camp, there’s no denying that the smartphone has been influenced by the iPhone. Before the first iPhone was launched in 2007, smartphones were clunky devices aimed at people like businessmen and verticals. They were complicated. With the iPhone, smartphones became fun, sensitive touch screens became the norm, and we all started to want a small computer in our pocket. Google responded by coming up with Android, and Microsoft had to do something to save their Windows Mobile. All because of a phone which didn’t even have a camera at launch.

The way we thought about tablets
It’s the iPhone all over again: before the iPad, tablet computers were clunky devices which sought to pile on features. Then Apple came along and showed how we didn’t have to torture our fingers for an interface built with the mouse in mind. People who didn’t even know what a tablet was became enamoured with the iPad, and it brought quick and causal computing to people who had never owned a computer before, whose iPads were their first PCs.

The end of an era
There are of course many questions floating around. What will Apple be like now that Steve is gone? Can successor Tim Cook continue Steve’s passion? But let’s put the speculation off for another day or so, and give our respects to the man who will no doubt become a legend in time to come.

Rest in peace, Steve. You’re a visionary, and you’ll be remembered.

What does a goalie do as he prepares to step up to a penalty shootout at the end of a gruelling 120-minute cup final? Turn on his iPod.

That’s what Manchester United goalie Ben Foster did yesterday, as the Carling Cup final between the Red Devils and Tottenham Hotspurs moved to the lottery of a penalty shootout after a 0-0 stalemate.

According to Soccernet, he checked out how his opponents would take their kicks by watching past videos of them on an iPod just before taking his place between the posts.

Soon after, he saved two of the three spot kicks that Spurs took, allowing Man Utd to win 4-1 on penalties eventually.

He said on Soccernet: “We have had things to look at over the last couple of days and before the shootout you can see me looking at an iPod with (goalkeeping coach) Eric Steele. It had actual video on it and showed where players put things.”

In a season when the Red Devils may win an unprecented five titles, the iPod could have just helped the Premier League champions (and current leaders) onto yet another trophy. (Sorry, if you’re not a Man Utd fan)

So, there you go. Don’t forget your little gizmo if you’re going to penalties!

Tired of the increasingly bloated and unwieldy beast called iTunes? Give Songbird, a new open-source music player a spin.

It has a lot of the nice Apple interface, but it doesn’t come with the heft of iTunes. The most important piece of news is that it supports iPods via a plug-in, letting you sync your PC’s tracks with your portable MP3 player. You can also manually manage your tracks.

Besides being relatively light, Songbird can be customised with plug-ins, a la Firefox. There’s a particularly useful one that lets you look out for both doppelganger MP3 files and orphaned ones, so it’s great if you got a large collection and are trying to keep track of your thousands of songs.

And what’s not to like, especially when you even get attractive MediaFlow album covers on screen! All you need is an add-on, and of course, you only install it, if you want, so there’s no bloat.

I haven’t sync’d my iPod nano, which I mostly use just for jogging, in months because of the problems with the increasingly fat iTunes. Am I glad that something has come along from a third-party that is actually this good.

On the face of it – a rather “thin” face of it – Creative seems to have finally come up with a solid MP3 player with its Zen X-Fi.

This little gizmo is slim at just 12.8mm (a few credit cards thick) and should fit into the pocket well. Yet it has most of what the pricier – and longer – Apple iPod Touch has and more.

Wi-Fi? Check. Video playback (including DivX and WMV)? Check. SD card slot for additional expansion? Check.

Wait, there’s also built-in FM and a microphone, so it should come in handy for recording meetings and, for us reporters, for recording what interviewees say (and later deny!).

Best of all, the price is right. Creative’s online store is selling the 32GB version for S$399 – that’s less than the S$848 what Apple asks for its 32GB iPod Touch.

With such capacities, there’s finally enough capacity for the whopping 20+GB of music that is quickly expanding on my PC, thanks mainly to my encoding stuff in WAV instead of MP3 these days.

I’ve always said MP3 players, unlike computers, are lifestyle products and Apple’s done a better job with them than a “PC” company like Creative. But would you pay twice as much for a player with less stuff just to look cool?

I know I didn’t buy a Sony Walkman or Discman just because it’s Sony in the past – I bought an Aiwa or Panasonic that played (mostly) just as well. Now, after two iPods, maybe it’s time for me to consider Creative seriously.