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The Raspberry Pi single-board pc and all its variants have captured the imaginations of DIY fans and budding hobbyists alike. With the most recent 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 net 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 fingers of somebody with somewhat creativeness and a bin stuffed with spare electronics.
However most individuals, notably rookies, received’t use the Raspberry Pi to whip up loopy creations. There are near-endless sensible makes use of for this bare-bones package, from media streaming to extending the vary of your Wi-Fi community, as the next 10 tasks display. Time to place that lil’ pc 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, methods & makes use of for the single-board PC
The unique $35 Raspberry Pi could have been revolutionary to makers, but it surely took off with PC fans as properly because of its skill to double as a dirt-cheap home-theater PC. That attract could have waned a bit in recent times as devoted gadgets just like the Chromecast hit the streets at equally low costs, however utilizing a Raspberry Pi as a media-streaming field nonetheless gives way 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 methods on the market, every revolving round slapping your HD movies on the massive display screen. OSMC is constructed across the well-liked 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 alerts.
Give a dumb TV smarts
Likewise, when you have a dumb TV that you just’d like so as to add net searching and different fundamental computing talents to, the Raspberry Pi does the trick with out costing anyplace close to as a lot as a correct residence theater PC. 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 best case, the Pi can look downright trendy in your house theater, too.
Bonus: When you’re connecting the Raspberry Pi to your TV, you should use it to stream net movies, too!
File storage server
It’s also possible to have your Raspberry Pi play wingman for the opposite gadgets in your home, serving as a centralized system that performs useful duties.
Working example: You need to use the mini-PC as a low-cost NAS field for basic file storage if you happen to join an exterior USB onerous drive to the machine. Hit these hyperlinks for technical particulars, and one tip if you happen to’re planning to transform the pc to a file server: Use a wired ethernet connection quite than Wi-Fi if you happen to’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 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 gadgets, however setting it up is fairly simple. This MakeUseOf tutorial walks you thru the method step-by-step.
Lengthen your property’s Wi-Fi community
Raspberry Pi doesn’t make the house networks you utilize, however it might probably make the house networks you utilize higher if you happen to configure the mini-PC as a wi-fi vary extender, tapping into the system’s ethernet and USB ports. Doing so may help your Wi-Fi sign attain the farthest corners of your home and assist wipe out useless zones.
Configuring the system to bolster your property 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 may well play video games from all kinds of consoles proper on as much as the PlayStation 1 period if you happen to 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 methods have additionally been launched that rework the system right into a high-fidelity music participant when linked to a speaker, type of like a extra highly effective, versatile model of Chromecast Audio.
The assorted music-oriented OSes accessible supply totally different options; poke across the FAQs and options of every to see which is correct to your wants. Listed here are tutorials on the way to have your Raspberry Pi flip dumb audio system into sensible music options with Volumio and Rune Audio (pictured), each of which supply cell apps so you’ll be able to management your tunes together with your telephone.
Study programming
You might at all times use the Raspberry Pi because it was initially meant, 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.
Past 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 working system that the Raspberry Pi Basis encourages new customers to put in. Get sensible!
Play Minecraft
Or you possibly can play Minecraft. There’s a free Raspberry Pi model of Minecraft that anyone can obtain for free of charge. Even higher, it’s designed to show you the way 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 pc science.)
Obtain Minecraft: Pi Version and bounce 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 net searching, watching video streams, and doc modifying. Organising 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 onerous to beat, particularly given its construct price of $100 (and even much less, if you happen to go for the 2GB model and never the 4GB). Take a look at PCWorld’s full information in the way to put collectively a $100 Raspberry Pi PC for every part 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 kind of awe-inspiring creative tasks? PCWorld’s have 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 via the actually superior stuff just like the magic mirror above.
Additionally try our roundup of the greatest Raspberry Pi kits. Whether or not 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 package might be the way in which to go.
Editor’s observe: This text is up to date periodically to incorporate new data, most just lately to resurface these tasks for Pi day (March 14, 2024) and observe the discharge of the Raspberry Pi 5.
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