'How many CEOs passing would attract such compassionate words?'

The technology world mourned the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs on Wednesday in the way that the tech world does so many things now -- on Twitter. And the above quote, by a Twitter user from South London, sums up the reaction on the 140-character medium: a level of sadness and reflection that isn't usually seen on the death of a corporate leader.

The stream of Twitter posts mentioning Jobs quickly turned into a flood, and the service even saw outages. 'I've literally never seen my whole entire stream talking about ONE thing before. Astonishing,' wrote Twitter user Jane McGonigal.

As other business giants published their tributes, Twitter provided a look into the reactions of thousands of people who simply used the technology that Jobs created.

'Raise your hand if you found out the news about Steve Jobs on an Apple product. *Hand Raised*' read one popular message that rang true for your Digits reporter.

'Doesn't matter what brand of computer/device/OS you use. What you use is better than it would've been because of Steve Jobs,' another user wrote.

Sure, plenty of the tweets were people who simply wanted to pass along the news, which was simultaneouslyshocking and expected. But others were more profound.

'There is less magic in the world tonight,' wrote a user called Vikram Somaya.

'It's amazing how someone you've never met can shape your past, your present and your future,' wrote another.

And some passed along lessons they had learned from Jobs's career, like 'education, pedigree and market dominance are ultimately no match for imagination.'

But among the most popular tweets were those relaying quotes from Jobs himself, who was known as a great speaker.

Among the most cited: 'In the early days of Apple, Steve Jobs said he wanted to make 'a dent in the universe'. He did just that.'

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries

• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• reaction [ri´ækʃən] n.反应(力) (初中英语单词)
• medium [´mi:diəm] n.中间；平均 a.中等的 (初中英语单词)
• reflection [ri´flekʃən] n.反射；映象；想法 (初中英语单词)
• stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
• amazing [ə´meiziŋ] a.惊人的；惊奇的 (初中英语单词)
• career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)
• founder [´faundə] n.奠基者 v.陷落 (高中英语单词)
• sadness [´sædnis] n.悲哀；悲痛；凄惨 (高中英语单词)
• literally [´litərəli] ad.逐字地；实际上 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• simultaneously [,siməl´teinjəsli] ad.同时，一起 (英语四级单词)
• ultimately [´ʌltimitli] ad.最后，最终 (英语四级单词)
• compassionate [kəm´pæʃənit] a.有同情心的 vt.同情 (英语六级单词)
• twitter [´twitə] vi.(鸟)吱吱叫 n.鸟鸣 (英语六级单词)
• shocking [´ʃɔkiŋ] a.令人震惊的；可怕的 (英语六级单词)