Small computers, while not fully functional out-of-the-box and not as easy to setup as their closed, single purpose counterparts, allow for the realisation of some very interesting and different projects. I've already written about the Raspberry Pi, what it is and why it was created. This time I will show what it's capable of doing.
Gaming
Although this is a very small device, it does have hardware acceleration built-in. For a long time however, the drivers were closed source so performance wasn't too good. That is now changing. Quake 3 has been ported to the Pi successfully. Minecraft can run on the Pi also!. There can also be found heavier, hardware modifications of the computer. Ben Heck managed to squeeze a Pi into a small enclosure along with a monitor and a few buttons and make it into a portable gaming device. It can run retro games using an emulator and has appeared at various shows.
Portable Pi. Source: http://www.recantha.co.uk/blog/?p=4530
Second part of Ben's tutorial on how the console was created: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DVyHE8MJLY.
Computing
An example consisting of 33 Pis, being used in a cluster to make simulations.
Whole cluster neatly organised. Source: http://www.zdnet.com/build-your-own-supercomputer-out-of-raspberry-pi-boards-7000015831/
The cluster in action.
The same was done by the University of Southampton. They have 64 Raspberries working together.
Media and storage, home and office automation
It's very easy to create a media center using the Pi. In fact, there are operating systems ready for download that have such capabilities. The device is small, almost completely silent and can be easily hidden behind a TV or computer screen.
Raspberry working as a media center.
The Pi doesn't come with a camera but installing one is simple. Pictures made by it won't be the highest quality but they're perfect for long, stable work. Here's an example of a Pi used as a surveillance camera: http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry-Pi-as-low-cost-HD-surveillance-camera/?ALLSTEPS.
An all-in-one PC can be built with the Pi being attached at the back. It's so small it won't even be visible when using the computer. It might not be the most comfortable to use, the fastest or the best looking but it can be pretty portable and cheap: http://everyday-tech.com/raspberry-pi-all-in-one-pc-build/.
Other projects
A Raspberry was attached to a balloon and flew to an altitude of about 40km to take pictures of the Earth. It then fell down and was retrieved. More details: http://www.daveakerman.com/?p=592.
One of the pictures taken by the Pi. Source: http://www.daveakerman.com/?p=592
One of the prettiest starter kits that can definitely appeal to kids is Kano.
Kano video presentation.
BeetBox
A musical instrument consisting of a Raspberry Pi and... beets. It has a touch sensor and a speaker to produce sound when one of the beets is touched.
BeetBox in action.
Did you hear of any other interesting implementations of the Raspberry or any other small computer?
Comments
Anyway, waiting for an even smaller computer. I'm ciurous, where it'll all go from here on now
Now it certainly makes more sense as a media center.
By the way, I recommend the Geckoboard platform for all who are looking for good data visualization.
At PI we have installed their Linux with chrome. Everything is easy simple and fairly quick work.
The ideal tool for small, funny projects :)
Like you said, clusters are made mostly for demonstrations. They don't occupy too much space and are easier to decompose and analyse for the purpose of teaching.
Basically you can build everything with platform like Raspberry and Arduino. Of course there are some limitations but still building own devices based on open source code, platform in general is great adventure.