Hi all! My previous guide is now quite old and out of date, so I'm writing a new one that is up to date and has even more cool things! As before, please let me know if I've missed any neat projects or ideas and I'll update this post. Here's a link to the old post in case you're curious.

Let's start at the start.

What's a Raspberry Pi?

A Raspberry Pi is a SBC - Single Board Computer. That is, it is an entire computer that fits on one circuit board. Almost all functions of the Raspberry Pi (henceforth Pi) are handled by a Broadcom SoC. SoC stands for "System on Chip" which basically just means one microchip handles all of the tasks for that system.

Now, the Pi is not like a Windows or Macintosh computer - the SoC used uses an architecture called ARM which means you can't install Windows 7 or 10 on it. However, there are many different versions of Linux available for the Pi, as well as some special versions of Windows 10 that are just for communication (no interface). You can also decide you want to write your own operating system and start from "bare metal".

What features do I get?

With this inexpensive computer you get a lot of features you wouldn't expect.

• Full-resolution 1080p video output via HDMI
• Analog composite video output for non-HD displays (A & B only)
• Hardware video decoding for seamless playback of high definition movies
• USB port or ports for connecting keyboards, mice, printers, webcams, sound cards, and more
• 10/100 ethernet (A & B, shared bandwidth with the USB port)
• GPIO (General Purpose In Out) ports that allow digital control and external devices including I2C, SPI, and serial control
• Connector for a compatible camera module to capture high quality video and still photos directly from the command line (A & B models)
• Connector for dedicated Raspberry Pi Touchscreen (A & B models)

What kinds of Raspberry Pi are there?

There are three main versions of the Raspberry Pi, and a few variations within. From largest to smallest there is the Model B, the Model A, the Zero, and the Compute Module. Within each version there are several revisions that have hardware differences.

Here are all models currently in production:

• Raspberry Pi 2 Model B ($35 USD): Most powerful model, with newer / faster SoC, 1GB memory, and 4 USB ports.
• Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+ ($20 USD): Compact and with lower power consumption. Still provides full size HDMI port, 1 USB port, and analog audio / video out.
• Raspberry Pi Zero ($5 USD): Cheaper than a hamburger, this is the newest Raspberry Pi and is small enough to lose in your pocket while still having the same features as its bigger brethren. SoC is between the Pi 1 and 2 in power. Mini HDMI and MicroUSB port with OTG capabilities make it perfect for device emulation and testing. Full GPIO but unpopulated headers and mostly minimalist design is great for custom applications. Currently very hard to find!
• Raspberry Pi Compute Module ($100 USD with development board): This unit is the essential parts of a Raspberry Pi in a board with an edge connector. It's designed to be integrated in industrial applications and hasn't found much traction in the hobbyist environment - the recently released Pi Zero is a much better fit for that.

What else do I need besides the Pi?

After you've selected your Raspberry Pi, you'll need (at minimum):

• MicroSD Card: To hold the operating system files. You can purchase one pre-loaded with NOOBS or buy one and load it yourself.
• Power Supply: All Pis are powered via a MicroUSB connector on the board edge. You can purchase one for the Pi, build your own, buy a commercial power supply, or use most brands of mobile phone chargers. Most Pi models will run from your computer's USB ports but often once you start plugging in USB devices and overclocking you'll find those ports don't provide enough current.
• Video Cable: Depending on the model, you'll need an HDMI, TRRS-to-RCA, or MiniHDMI-to-HDMI cable to connect your Pi to a display. Check the model of Pi and your intended display to see what connectors you need.
• USB Keyboard and Mouse

Operating System

NOOBS

Every computer needs an operating system, and the Pi is a computer! Many new Pi users purchase a card pre-loaded with NOOBS which comes with several Raspberry Pi Foundation-selected common distributions:

• Raspbian - default desktop OS, the "official" OS of the Rasbperry Pi
• Pidora - Fedora Remix for the Raspberry Pi
• OpenELEC - A media center OS
• OSMC - Similar to OpenELEC
• RISC OS - an OS based on the Reduced Instruction Set Computer architecture. Very basic, but very fast!
• Arch Linux - A more minimal OS but with several performance benefits. Very popular!
• Chromium - u/tohipfortheroom has been working on porting Chromium OS over to the Pi. See r/ChromiumRPI for download links and more info

You can go to the NOOBS Documentation for links to each and more information.

Other Operating systems

• Ubuntu Mate - Ubuntu for the Pi
• Windows 10 IoT - A low-level version of Windows for Internet of Things applications. No GUI but supports many common libraries allowing for easy cross-platform IoT development.
• Minibian - Minimal Raspibian package, great for building custom production builds and small SD cards
• ArchLinuxARM - Simplified, pared down version fo the Arch distribution with both ARM6 and ARM7 kernels.
• Custom packages for gaming, video, and audio as seen elsewhere in this post!
• Many, many others...

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That's all you need to get started! Once you get into a project or discover how you want to use your Pi you'll of course need many other things, but that'll get you started. There is lots of help on the internet including many dedicated posters here and sources on Youtube like Gavin MacDonald.

Uses of the Pi

In this section I'll go over some of the common uses of the Raspberry Pi, including links to projects where I can find them.

Common Uses:

• Desktop Computer - That's right, you can use your Pi as a desktop computer, right out of the box. Raspibian is one of the most common versions of Linux (called "distros") used on the Pi, and in fact comes with NOOBS as a default OS. It's a full desktop operating system and comes with an internet browser and many regular utilities. You can install LibreOffice to edit documents and spreadsheets, and do almost everything you can do on a desktop or laptop computer costing many times more.
  There are plenty of other desktop Linux operating systems that run on the Pi, too. Like Ubuntu? Try Ubuntu Mate!
• Media Center - Custom software packages such as OSMC, Kodi, and OpenELEC provide an interface and controls to watch movies, tv episodes, and listen to music on your living room TV in a manner very similar to Amazon Fire TV or AppleTV.
• File Server - The Pi can be a file server for your house, providing everything from normal file storage to backups, media, and personal website hosting. There are a lot of guides for this and many ways to slice it, but this Instructable is pretty good as is this article. A quick search with keywords related to your goals will likely yield a walkthrough for your need.
• Video Gaming - Yep, the Pi can do that too. RetroPie and PiPlay are full on emulator suites that can let you play games from Atari through the Playstation 1, supporting controllers and multi-player action.

More Uses and Projects:

• You can take that retro video game Pi and make it look pretty awesome in a custom repurposed case.
• You can build a custom beer tap dispay
• Learn to program Python on the Pi
• Or learn C if you prefer.
• Access your Pi-based web server from anywhere with DuckDNS or RaspCTL
• A DNLA / UPnP server is convenient, you can host music and video on your Pi and play it from most video game systems and media players in your house. Link Alternate
• HTPC Guides has a decent amount of info if you want to turn your Pi into a full-on home theatre machine.
• With some bit-banging you can actually Transmit FM audio directly on the Pi (albiet noisily). This redditer made some nice scripts to make this easier for you.
• Print from almost anywhere with the Pi and Google Cloud Print
• Make a network-wide ad block that works on your computer, laptop, and mobile device with Pi Hole

Even More Uses (that need parts):

These projects make more use of the GPIO and additional electronics components. Many of them are still very capable of being done by an electronics novice!

• Use an I2S or USB sound card and turn your Pi into a controllable Hi-Fi music player with Volumio, Pi Music Box, or Rune Audio
• Then ratchet up the awesome and box it in a high quality case with a display for an incredible, versitile player
• If you use Apple devices you can also use the Pi as an AirPlay receiver with many of the audio players above or with shairplay
• Like large scale computing? Make a tiny cluster computer that fits on your desk.
• Take those game emulators and make an arcade machine
• Or if that's too large maybe a small one that comes as a kit
• Control your christmas lights by hacking wireless outlets or using a relay board
• If you want real control you can also use it to individually control each christmas bulb
• Use it to brew some beer
• Open your garage door
• Use the camera module to take 5MP photos or record 1080P video with simple terminal commands.
• Amateur Radio / HAM operator or scanner fan? Build a Digipeater or use it as a TNC for digital modes or set up a Software-defined Radio
• Build a ground tracking station and directly track airline flights
• Add one on to your 3D printer to make it more awesome!
• Build a robot!!!
• DIY CCTV with optional environment recording (temperature, etc) - posted here
• Bring a vintage Seeburg Wallbox Jukebox back to life

Always More!

As you can see, the things you can do with a Pi are virtually endless. Get started!