Apple made marketing gold from the export ban on Power Mac G4 'supercomputer' in 1999, 'for the first time in history a personal computer has been classified as a weapon' — Pentagon banned sales of the 400 MHz G4 in 50 countries when it launched

Steve Jobs presents the Apple Power Mac G4.

In a turbulent conflict-shaken world rife with geopolitical rivalry, tech export bans seem increasingly prevalent. However, history provides some context, and some fun in this case, as industry watchers rightly highlight that computer technology export bans are nothing new. Here we look back at the Apple Power Macintosh G4 export ban from 1999, and Steve Jobs making marketing gold from the situation.