As we are using raspberry pi for most of our IoT Projects, I did thought that is Raspberry Pi only used for IoT projects, are there any other ways we can use the devices. Definitely yes is the answer and I have already started using Raspberry pi for lot of other things.Looking at the device, you know you can use it for so many project but you’re not sure how to do it. Let met list down some of the top uses of raspberry pi 3. I believe you will be using raspberry pi 3 or other modes like raspberry pi zero , Arduino , Esp8266 node mcu etc for your projects.

Computer/PC

The simplest use for a Raspberry Pi is as a desktop computer.Depending on which model you buy, the Raspberry Pi is one of the world's least expensive and most versatile computers with just 512MB to 1GB of RAM and an SD card for storage. A good desktop computer can be useful, particularly for work-related tasks, but for many people space is a problem. What better computer to turn to than the box-sized Raspberry Pi.  Connect the pi to your TV through HDMI cable, connect as keyboard, mouse and to a WiFi you have good speed , fast booting computer. You also get applications like LibreOffice which is one of alternatives to Microsoft Office, claws email, chromium browser etc.

You need to install Raspbian or different OS to setup your raspberry pi.

Refer the tutorial raspberry pi as desktop pc/can you use raspberry pi as a desktop.

Media Center

We will learn how to set up Raspberry Pi as entertainment center solution (Kodi was XBMC) with the right accessories and software. Kodi is a free and open-source media player software application developed by the XBMC Foundation, a non-profit technology consortium. Kodi is available for multiple operating systems and hardware platforms, with a software 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls.

Turn a Raspberry Pi Into an Media Center in under 30 Minutes.Raspberry Pi is the perfect choice for a best home theater PC which are small, quiet, and inexpensive.Before you even hook up your Raspberry Pi to your TV,you’ll need to get the Kodi installed on normal Raspbian OS or you can use separate OS OpenELEC, or LibreELEC which is specifically designed for media center purpose. I will write a separate tutorial on how to setup the operating system for media center and configure the same.

Gaming Machine

You can convert your raspberry pi in to a gaming system, do you believe it ? You should.

Welcome to RetroPie. RetroPie allows you to turn your Raspberry Piinto a retro-gaming machine. It builds upon Raspbian, EmulationStation, RetroArch and many other projects to enable you to play your favorite Arcade, home-console, and classic PC games with the minimum set-up. For power users it also provides a large variety of configuration tools to customize the system as you want.

An emulator is software that makes a computer behave like another computer, or in the case of RetroPie a computer that behaves like a video game console such as the Super Nintendo. The RetroPie SD image comes pre-installed with many different emulators. Additional emulators may be installed from within RetroPie

Refer the tutorial on how to build a raspberry pi retro gaming emulation console/how to setup Retropie in raspberry Pi.

Web server

Apache is a popular web server application you can install on the Raspberry Pi to allow it to serve web pages.On its own, Apache can serve HTML files over HTTP, and with additional modules can serve dynamic web pages using scripting languages such as PHP.

You can setup your own website in Raspberry pi using apache webserver, php and WordPress. You can use no-ip and no need to worry about changing public ip.

Install apache using simple commands.

sudo apt-get update

Then, install the apache2 package with this command:

sudo apt-get install apache2 -y

This article will give you how to install webserver: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/remote-access/web-server/apache.md

In future posts , I will share the tutorial how setup wordpress in Raspberry pi.

Security system

Home security system using raspberry pi, we can build using a PIR Sensor and PI Camera.This system will detect the presence of Intruder and quickly alert the user by sending him a alert mail. This mail will also contain the Picture of the Intruder, captured by Pi camera. Raspberry Pi is used to control the whole system.

Components Required:

• Raspberry Pi
• Pi Camera
• PIR Sensor
• Bread Board
• Resistor (1k)
• Connecting wires
• Power supply

Refer the tutorial on simple Home Security email alert using Raspberry Pi .