The Raspberry Pi single-board laptop and all its variants have captured the imaginations of DIY fanatics and budding hobbyists alike. With the newest mannequin, the Raspberry Pi 5, the mini-PC is extra succesful than ever, with an upgraded four-core 2.4GHz system-on-chip (SoC) that’s as much as thrice sooner than earlier fashions.
A lot of the protection you’ll see across the internet focuses on the extra fantastical tasks—magic mirrors, transportable gaming handhelds, clever drones, and so forth. These maker masterpieces actually present what kind of energy the sub-$100 mini-PC is able to within the palms of somebody with a bit creativeness and a bin stuffed with spare electronics.
However most individuals, significantly learners, received’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 tasks exhibit. Time to place that lil’ laptop to actual work. Heck, many of those tasks will even work with the $10 Raspberry Pi Zero.
Additional studying: Raspberry Pi 5: 6 nice ideas, tips & makes use of for the single-board PC
The unique $35 Raspberry Pi might have been revolutionary to makers, but it surely took off with PC fanatics as effectively due to its capacity to double as a dirt-cheap home-theater PC. That attract might have waned a bit lately 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 you probably 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 screen. OSMC is constructed across the standard Kodi media middle software program (previously XBMC), whereas RasPlex transforms your Pi into the final 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 alerts.
Give a dumb TV smarts
Likewise, you probably have a dumb TV that you simply’d like so as to add internet looking and different fundamental computing skills to, the Raspberry Pi does the trick with out costing anyplace close to as a lot as a correct house theater PC. You’ll need 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 normal duties. With the suitable case, the Pi can look downright trendy in your house theater, too.
Bonus: In case you’re connecting the Raspberry Pi to your TV, you should utilize it to stream internet movies, too!
File storage server
It’s also possible to have your Raspberry Pi play wingman for the opposite units in your own home, serving as a centralized gadget that performs useful duties.
Living proof: You should use the mini-PC as a low cost NAS field for normal file storage in case you join an exterior USB exhausting drive to the machine. Hit these hyperlinks for technical particulars, and one tip in case you’re planning to transform the pc to a file server: Use a wired ethernet connection moderately than Wi-Fi in case you’re ready. Ensure you seize a stable exterior drive, too!
Wi-fi community printer
Printing isn’t as prevalent because it was, however the Raspberry Pi may help you remodel that chunky previous USB printer in your closet right into a networked printer that each gadget in your own 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.
Prolong your own home’s Wi-Fi community
Raspberry Pi doesn’t make the house networks you utilize, however it may make the house networks you utilize higher in case you configure the mini-PC as a wi-fi vary extender, tapping into the gadget’s ethernet and USB ports. Doing so may help your Wi-Fi sign attain the farthest corners of your own home and assist wipe out lifeless zones.
Configuring the gadget to bolster your own home 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. Take a look at Adafruit’s reader-friendly tutorial.
Outdated-school gaming emulator
Gaming emulators are a authorized grey space, however there’s little doubt that utilizing the Raspberry Pi as a butt-kicking console emulator is a well-liked use for the machines. It might play video games from all kinds of consoles proper on as much as the PlayStation 1 period in case you handle to snag some authorized sport ROMs, although the older the system being emulated, the higher the efficiency.
Curious? Take a look at PCWorld’s full information to turning your Raspberry Pi right 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. Quite a few working techniques have additionally been launched that remodel the gadget right into a high-fidelity music participant when related to a speaker, form of like a extra highly effective, versatile model of Chromecast Audio.
The assorted music-oriented OSes out there supply totally different options; poke across the FAQs and options of every to see which is true on your wants. Listed below are tutorials on learn how to have your Raspberry Pi flip dumb audio system into sensible music options with Volumio and Rune Audio (pictured), each of which supply cellular apps so you’ll be able to management your tunes along with your cellphone.
Study programming
You possibly can at all times use the Raspberry Pi because it was initially meant, too: As a low-cost introduction to programming and laptop science. The mini-PC’s loaded with all kinds of software program that encourages deep-level tinkering.
Past the command-line terminal, you’ll must 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 working system that the Raspberry Pi Basis encourages new customers to put in. Get sensible!
Play Minecraft
Or you would play Minecraft. There’s a free Raspberry Pi model of Minecraft that anyone can obtain without charge. Even higher, it’s designed to show you learn how to 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 youngsters into laptop science.)
Obtain Minecraft: Pi Version and soar in.
Reasonably priced 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 enhancing. Establishing 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 laptop, it’s exhausting to beat, particularly given its construct price of $100 (and even much less, in case you go for the 2GB model and never the 4GB). Take a look at PCWorld’s full information in learn how to put collectively a $100 Raspberry Pi PC for every little thing you’ll want.
Loopy superior experiments
Let’s end the place we started. When you’ve wrapped your head across the Raspberry Pi’s potential, why not strive your hand at a type of awe-inspiring ingenious tasks? PCWorld’s take a look at 10 insanely revolutionary, extremely cool Raspberry Pi creations may help with the inspiration, whereas the mission guides at Instructables, Hackaday, and the Raspberry Pi Basis web site itself are able to stroll you step-by-step by the actually superior stuff just like the magic mirror above.
Additionally take a look at our roundup of the greatest Raspberry Pi kits. Whether or not you’re a beginner who simply needs to get all of the fundamentals with one buy, or an skilled tinkerer trying to construct a specialised mission, a equipment could possibly be the best way to go.
Editor’s word: This text is up to date periodically to incorporate new information, most not too long ago to resurface these tasks for Pi day (March 14, 2024) and word the discharge of the Raspberry Pi 5.
