5 great ideas for Raspberry Pi projects – words Alan Woods
Has there ever been a more versatile computer than the Raspberry Pi? Well, we think we can confidently say there definitely aren’t any that have lent themselves to so many amazing applications within such tiny, credit card-sized proportions.
However, whether you are completely new to making stuff with the Raspberry Pi or you are a dab hand with more than a few of the versions of the single-board computer to have been released since 2012, it can sometimes be overwhelming to try to sift through all of the great things that you can do with a Pi that are detailed online.
So, we thought we would pick out just five cool ideas for Raspberry Pi projects.
Learn programming
Given the astounding range of potential uses for a Raspberry Pi that have come to light down the years since the first one’s launch, it’s perhaps understandable that so many people have forgotten the purpose for which it was conceived in the first place: helping to get people into programming. All you need is a Raspberry Pi starter kit.
The little Raspberry computer kit already has a lot of software that will assist your journey to becoming an adept coder, including – in the Raspian operating system that the Raspberry Pi Foundation suggests that new users install – versions of Python program creation tools, Wolfram Mathematica and Scratch.
Create a DIY gaming machine
While the Nintendo Classic Mini has won no shortage of rave reviews, it has also proved hard to come by, while you can’t play any more games with it than the 30 titles with which it comes preloaded.
So, what could you do instead? Well, you could rustle up your own custom-made version. Head to one of the various popular Raspberry Pi-related online stores, such as The Pi Hut, and pick up something like the £5 ‘SNES’-inspired gamepad controller or even the Picade arcade machine, which will admittedly set you back a rather more princely £180.
LEGO Macintosh Classic
Raspberry Pi owners seem to gravitate towards projects that enable them to marry the up-to-date coding tech of this tiny computer to retro aesthetics, and one programmer’s little LEGO interpretation of a vintage Apple Macintosh is quite the example of this.
It’s definitely a more technical project necessitating some fairly advanced coding, but if you like the idea of having your very own diminutive LEGO Macintosh complete with an e-paper display, powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero, you might want to check out programmer Jannis Hermanns’ instructions.
Make your old printer wireless
The advent of wireless technology has brought so many benefits to all of our lives, but let’s be honest – there are certain old, seemingly non-Wi-Fi compatible machines that we often just can’t bring ourselves to part with, for whatever reason.
Well, if that device is an old printer, don’t worry, because you can turn it into a networked machine that everyone in your household can use, in less arduous fashion than you might think. Just follow the instructions of MakeUseOf’s Christian Cawley to make it a reality.
Light up the night with a digital DJ system
The ongoing revival of vinyl in today’s otherwise highly technological and interconnected age for music makes it pretty much inevitable that digital vinyl systems would arise, for the benefit of DJs requiring a more convenient solution than having to carry around heavy boxes of expensive and rare vinyl from one event to another.
What is known as the PiDeck is powered by the Raspberry Pi 3, and you can find out more about it at the PiDeck website.
Five projects, five incredible ways to use this ever-flexible and fascinating single-board computer that you may have never previously thought of… we wish you the very best of luck with your Raspberry Pi-ing!
5 great ideas for Raspberry Pi projects – words Alan Woods
