by Angela Kaye Mason | Feb 22, 2013
Raspberry Pi, the much-sought-after, credit-card-sized, less-than-$30 tiny computer has challenged both kids and adults to write code and build everything from alarm clocks to computers. The latest estimates show over a million people have purchased this new phenomenon, and sales show no signs of slowing down. According to infoworld.com, the Pi is basically a Linux PC which has been stripped down and given a tiny circuit board, an ARM-based CPU, several pins and ports, and a graphics processor. From this, millions of people have formed their own creations, and are anxious to show them off. Here are 10 of the best ones.
1-Apple AirPlay and Raspberry Pi
As yummy as the title may sound, the first of our top ten Pi hacks simply allows the user to wirelessly stream video from YouTube, or other sites, to another your HDMI television or other device. The kicker here is that you can stream without having to pay for Apple’s services. As Techcrunch shares, using open source software, an SD card, a micro USB cable, USB Wi-Fi adapter, and the Pi, Jordan Burgess, an engineering student from Cambridge managed the feat.
2-Babysitter
Okay, it can’t really watch the baby for you, but with a little tweaking Raspberry Pi can help you to do so by becoming a baby monitor. At Raspberrypi.org, you can see how Matt Kaar from Virginia created his own baby monitor from his Pi and a USB mic.
3-Sprinkler System Control
The Raspberry Pi Web-Enabled Irrigation System Bypass uses the internet to predict rain, and disables your irrigation system if your lawn won’t need watering.
4-Supercomputer
No, just one single Pi cannot serve as a supercomputer, but add several of them together, and voila! Engineers at the University of South Hampton used 64 Raspberry Pi and many Legos to create the design by Professor Simon Cox and his 6 year old son, James.
5-Multi-Touchscreen Coffee Table
Graham, from Instructables.com, found yet another entertaining and interesting use for his Raspberry Pi. He built a table arcade cabinet from scratch out of his coffee table, using wood, a 24 inch LCD screen, a few arcade control, and, of course, his Pi.
6-Pi Powered Desktop PC
You can find many different ways to turn the Raspberry Pi into a laptop computer. Michael Davis explains his way of doing just that by strapping the Pi to the back of the PC monitor, effectively hiding the tiny device.
7&8-Pi-Powered Photo Booth & Party Photo Printer
Although Fedora explains a way to create a photo booth using the Raspberry Pi, Brian Delacruz simply turned his into a party photo printer. He uses a router to provide Wi-Fi capabilities, and a photo printer in addition to the Pi.
9-Raspberry Pi Deviant Art Photo Frame
To turn the Raspberry Pi into a cool digital photo frame you would need a Pi, an LCD screen and a DeviantArt account. Cameron Wiebe shares exacly how it is done in his blog at Switching to Linux.
10-Voice Activated Coffee Maker
Imagine mornings with the simplicity of just telling your coffee machine to make the steaming hot pot of alertness for you. You can have just that with the Raspberry Pi Voice Activated Coffee Machine seen on MoccaPi.
Those are just a few of the best Raspberry Pi hacks so far. With a price of under $30 a piece, the Pi is a terrific buy for a project to challenge the mind. Which is your favorite?
Category: Just for Fun | Tagged 3 Comments.
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