The Raspberry Pi single-board pc and all its variants have captured the imaginations of DIY fans and budding hobbyists alike, despite the fact that it hasn’t been immune to the chip crunch. And now that an 8GB model with as much RAM as a Mac Mini is right here, curiosity in constructing with the board is bound to spike.
Much of the protection you’ll see across the internet focuses on the more fantastical projects—magic mirrors, transportable gaming handhelds, clever drones, and so forth. And for good purpose! Those maker masterpieces present what kind of energy the $35 mini-PC is able to within the arms of somebody with just a little creativeness and a bin stuffed with spare electronics, particularly now that the Raspberry Pi 4 contains extra RAM, an enormous CPU improve, USB-C charging, and sufficient graphics horsepower to drive a pair of 4K screens concurrently.
But most individuals, notably freshmen, gained’t use the Raspberry Pi to whip up loopy creations. There are near-endless sensible makes use of for this bare-bones equipment, from media streaming to extending the vary of your Wi-Fi community, as the next 10 initiatives exhibit. Time to place that $35 pc to actual work. Heck, many of those will work simply positive even on the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero.
Editor’s observe: This article is up to date periodically to incorporate new data, most not too long ago to resurface these initiatives for Pi day (3/14) and acknowledge larger Raspberry Pi 4 costs from the continuing chip scarcity.
The unique $35 Raspberry Pi might have been revolutionary to makers, nevertheless it took off with PC fans as nicely because of its capacity to double as a dirt-cheap home-theater PC. That attract might have waned a bit in recent times as devoted units just like the Chromecast hit the streets at equally low costs, however utilizing a Raspberry Pi as a media-streaming field nonetheless gives much more energy than these streaming-centric sticks, particularly when you have a sizeable native media assortment.
There are a slew of HTPC-centric Raspberry Pi working techniques on the market, every revolving round slapping your HD movies on the large display. OSMC is constructed across the common Kodi media middle software program (previously XBMC), whereas RasPlex transforms your Pi into the last word Plex streaming field. The $21 Raspberry Pi TV Hat accent, in the meantime, can grant your mini-PC the flexibility to learn over-the-air TV indicators.
Give a dumb TV smarts
Likewise, when you have a dumb TV that you just’d like so as to add internet looking and different fundamental computing talents to, the Raspberry Pi does the trick with out costing anyplace close to as a lot as a Chromebit or Windows-powered Compute Stick. You’ll wish to use a Raspberry Pi 2, 3, or 4, although—the unique Pi and the Raspberry Pi Zero are simply pokey sufficient to be irritating for basic duties. With the precise case, the Pi can look downright trendy in your house theater, too.
Bonus: If you’re connecting the Raspberry Pi to your TV, you need to use it to stream internet movies, too!
File storage server
You may also have your Raspberry Pi play wingman for the opposite units in your home, serving as a centralized system that performs useful duties.
Case in level: You can use the mini-PC as a cheap NAS box for basic file storage in the event you join an exterior USB laborious drive to the machine. Hit these hyperlinks for technical particulars, and one tip in the event you’re planning to transform the pc to a file server: Use a wired ethernet connection fairly than Wi-Fi in the event you’re in a position.
Wireless community printer
Printing isn’t as prevalent because it was once, however the Raspberry Pi might help you rework that chunky outdated USB printer in your closet right into a networked printer that each system in your home can use.
You’ll want an influence supply for every gadget, clearly, in addition to a USB connection between the units, however setting it up is fairly simple. This MakeUseOf tutorial walks you thru the method step-by-step.
Extend your house’s Wi-Fi community
Raspberry Pi doesn’t make the house networks you employ, however it could make the house networks you employ higher in the event you configure the mini-PC as a wi-fi vary extender, tapping into the system’s ethernet and USB ports. Doing so might help your Wi-Fi sign attain the farthest corners of your home and assist wipe out lifeless zones.
Configuring the system to bolster your house community will take a little bit of time, and also you’ll want to purchase a USB Wi-Fi adapter to do it, however once more, it’s comparatively simple with a information. Check out Adafruit’s reader-friendly tutorial.
Old-school gaming emulator
Gaming emulators are a authorized grey space, however there’s little question that utilizing the Raspberry Pi as a butt-kicking console emulator is a well-liked use for the machines. It can play video games from all kinds of consoles proper on as much as the PlayStation 1 period in the event you handle to snag some authorized recreation ROMs, although the older the system being emulated, the higher the efficiency.
Curious? Check out PCWorld’s full information to turning your Raspberry Pi into a retro gaming console for the total scoop.
A music streaming machine
The Raspberry Pi’s media chops aren’t restricted to video streaming alone. Numerous working techniques have additionally been launched that rework the system right into a high-fidelity music participant when related to a speaker, kind of like a extra highly effective, versatile model of Chromecast Audio.
The varied music-oriented OSes accessible provide totally different options; poke across the FAQs and options of every to see which is correct on your wants. Here are tutorials on have your Raspberry Pi flip dumb audio system into good music options with Volumio and Rune Audio (pictured), each of which provide cellular apps so you’ll be able to management your tunes together with your telephone.
Learn programming
You might at all times use the Raspberry Pi because it was initially supposed, too: As a low-cost introduction to programming and pc science. The mini-PC’s loaded with all types of software program that encourages deep-level tinkering.
Beyond the command-line terminal, you’ll have to wade in typically, you’ll additionally discover variations of Wolfram Mathematica, Python program creation instruments, and Scratch, an animation coding IDE for youths, within the Raspbian operating system that the Raspberry Pi Foundation encourages new customers to put in. Get good!
Play Minecraft
Or you might play Minecraft. There’s a free Raspberry Pi model of Minecraft that anyone can obtain for gratis. Even higher, it’s designed to show you use the Python programming language as you construct out the world. (Hey, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella did say that a part of the explanation the corporate bought Mojang was to lure kids into computer science.)
Download Minecraft: Pi Edition and soar in with this helpful tutorial.
Affordable productiveness PC
With choices of 2GB, 4GB, and now 8GB fashions, the Raspberry Pi 4 packs a heftier punch than earlier RPi iterations—making it appropriate for fundamental on a regular basis duties like internet looking, watching video streams, and doc modifying. Setting up one as a PC goes quick, too, with the majority of the hour setup time dedicated to ready for the working system set up to finish.
As a starter or secondary pc, it’s laborious to beat, particularly given its construct value of $100 (and even much less, in the event you go for the 2GB model and never the 4GB). Check out PCWorld’s full information in put collectively a $100 Raspberry Pi PC for all the pieces you’ll want.
Crazy superior experiments
Let’s end the place we started. Once you’ve wrapped your head across the Raspberry Pi’s potential, why not attempt your hand at a kind of awe-inspiring ingenious initiatives? PCWorld’s have a look at 10 insanely innovative, incredibly cool Raspberry Pi creations might help with the inspiration, whereas the mission guides at Instructables, Hackaday, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation website itself are able to stroll you step-by-step by means of the actually superior stuff just like the magic mirror above.
Also try our roundup of the best Raspberry Pi kits. Whether you’re a beginner who simply desires to get all of the fundamentals with one buy, or an skilled tinkerer trying to construct a specialised mission, a equipment may very well be the best way to go.