Everything You Need to Know About Raspberry Pi and What You Can Do with It

Over the years, the credit card-sized computer, Raspberry Pi has taken the world by storm inspiring curious creators, designers, and tinkerers. In a world eagerly pushing for more programmers and projects for the STEM-curious, Raspberry Pi is an excellent tool for those eager to gain further insight into the realm of engineering. 

RELATED: 17 RASPBERRY PI KITS FOR YOUR WEEKEND PROJECTS

Now you have probably come across a Raspberry Pi computer at some point or perhaps even got a small peek of all the amazing things you can create with the easily accessible computer. If you were always interested in learning more about the Raspberry Pi computer, or are curious about the world of programming, or simply love a great DIY project today is your lucky day. Today we are going to breakdown everything you need to know about the exciting world of Raspberry Pi. 

Introducing the Raspberry Pi 

The Raspberry Pi Foundation are the minds behind the Raspberry Pi computer. For the uninitiated, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based charity that works to put the power of computing and digital making into the hands of people all over the world. In short, the aim of the foundation is to make computers and programming accessible to children and young adults.  

The current running idea is that we need more programmers more than ever. History has shown that the children who have made an effort to learn how to program were able to gain an intimate understanding of computers as adults. However, a few decades ago, computers were not as accessible as they are today. The Raspberry Pi is one of the best tools out there for introducing you to the exciting world of programming. 

As stated by the foundation, “Our mission is to put the power of computing and digital making into the hands of people all over the world. We do this so that more people are able to harness the power of computing and digital technologies for work, to solve problems that matter to them, and to express themselves creatively.”

However, it is great to mention that Raspberry Pi is a perfect tool for people of all ages as there is no right age to learn about programming. Even more so, Raspberry Pi programming is a great tool not just for beginners but for experts too. Google Raspberry Pi projects right now, and you will find people of all ages, using the small computer to create everything from retro gaming systems to powerful robots. 

The evolution of Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi first made its debut in 2012 with its Raspberry Pi 1 Model A. It featured a system-on-a-chip setup built around the Broadcom BCM2835 processor–a tiny but fairly powerful mobile processor commonly used in cellphones. It included a CPU, GPU, audio/video processing, and other functionality all on a low-power chip paired with a 700Mhz single-core ARM processor.

Since then, the Raspberry Pi  Foundation has released better and better iterations of their computer with each computer getting more powerful. What also drew people to the Raspberry Pi was its price point, costing around $35. 

You can do a lot with the new and improved Raspberry Pi 4. The Raspberry Pi 4 maintains a similar size to previous Raspberry computers but with a host of new features. The computer has a USB-C power supply, a more powerful processor, 1 to 4GB of RAM, USB 2, USB 3 ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. You can even use it to create a complete desktop experience; something that was not possible in previous models. 

So, what can you do with the Raspberry Pi? 

Now there is a lot you can do with the Raspberry Pi for people and creators of all ages in a wide range of subjects. Now before you go buying a Raspberry Pi, there a few things you need to know. First and foremost, you want to be careful about where you go to purchase one and what you can do with the mini-computer. 

It is highly recommended that you buy a Raspberry Pi from an official Pi reseller. Though you can go on to buy a Raspberry Pi from Amazon. Even more so there are a lot of great literature and tutorials out there to help get you started. There are kits out there to help you get started too to help ensure that your projects run smoothly. 

There are dozens of great projects out there to try with your Raspberry Pi 4, Pi 3, and Pi zero. Some of the more interesting projects include a personal in-flight entertainment system, disposable GIF camera, tiny retro games console, magic mirror, and even a mini retro Macintosh.

If you are interested in the Raspberry Projects and Pi projects are sure to stop by the Raspberry Pi Foundation website. What have you created with your Raspberry Pi? And do you have a favorite project? Be sure to leave your comments below.