Don McAllister
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don McAllister is an English podcaster from Liverpool. He is the host of the popular video podcast ScreenCastsOnline, a weekly program composed of video screencasts tutorials that cover different computer-related topics. He has appeared on Robert Scoble's Scoble Show and has been invited to speak at the 2007 Podcast & New Media Expo in Ontario, California. He was also a guest at Adam Christianson's Mac Podcaster Meetup at the 2007 Macworld Expo, which featured podcasters such as Leo Laporte.
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[edit] Personal life
Don McAllister, 48, was born and still lives in Liverpool, England with his wife Barbara, his daughter Nicola, his son Martin who is currently doing his A-levels and his two cats.
[edit] Introduction to the Mac
Don McAllister switched to the Macintosh in January of 2005 after having bad experiences with the Windows operating system. After seeing Apple's introduction of the Mac mini, he decided to purchase the small and inexpensive computer. McAllister was greatly impressed by the Mac OS X operating system and has since then purchased a Power Mac G5, a MacBook Pro, and a MacBook for his wife.
[edit] ScreenCastsOnline
ScreenCastsOnline was created in August 2005 and to date has produced over 130 screencasts. The show covers topics ranging from Macintosh software such as OmniOutliner and iPhoto to web-based services such as Basecamp and Google Reader. Don McAllister got the idea for the podcast after helping relatives with their computer problems by recording video screencasts to demonstrate how to accomplish certain tasks. Since then, many new and experienced computer users have benefited from ScreenCastsOnline's easy-to-follow format. The podcast has crossed 2 million downloads and has approximately 13,000 subscribers tuning in every week.
[edit] Work & Projects
In March of 2006, McAllister decided to quit his day job in IT to concentrate on ScreenCastsOnline. The podcast has now become his full-time job and his primary source of income. To monetize the show, he launched a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! membership scheme which offers high definition versions of the shows, extra content, the entire back catalogue, and other benefits. The membership costs US$35 for 6 months. Besides ScreenCastsOnline, Don McAllister has recorded screencasts on commission.
After the initial success of ScreenCastsOnline, McAllister decided to create a smaller audio podcast, the EuroMac Podcast, in March 2006. This 10-15 minute weekly show focused on Mac news and information from a European perspective. Initially meant for a European audience, the EuroMac Podcast nevertheless attracted listeners from North America as well. Unfortunately, in August 2006, McAllister decided to put this podcast to rest to concentrate on ScreenCastsOnline.
McAllister has recently launched a computer training company, Core Computer Training. The company offers live personal training for Apple's Mac OS X platform and iLife applications, as well as sessions on podcasting. The training occurs at the Knowsley Business Resource Centre in Knowsley, UK.
