You’ve been thinking about it for a while, and you’ve finally taken the plunge: you’ve bought a Raspberry Pi. Looking at the device, you know you can use it for so many projects… but you’re not sure how. Can this little device really act as a desktop PC? As a server? As a radio station?
Yes, it can. Simply by installing an operating system on the SD card you’ll have a number of awesome uses at your fingertips. Occasionally, a specialized operating system is required, but overall the process is the same: boot up, configure your Raspberry Pi (or pre-configure with PiBakery), install some software, and enjoy!
To get you started, we’ve collected 20 great uses for the Raspberry Pi, all with detailed tutorials from us all at MakeUseOf.
We’ll assume you’re using a Raspberry Pi 3, but most of these projects will work on the older models.
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!