
Ask HN: What do you do with your Raspberry Pi? - tixocloud
Hey all,<p>I recently got a Raspberry Pi as a gift. For those of you that have one, I'm curious what you've done with it. I'm contemplating a media server but I'm open to more interesting ideas.
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damian2000
We use it as sort of a 'programmable, smart serial port'. Because RS-232
serial ports are rare these days on laptops and even desktops, its easier to
use the RPi as a bridge between PC applications and electronics/hardware
devices which use RS-232. The PC application connects to the RPi using a
direct TCP/IP cable. Its a bit more complicated than that, but that's the
general idea.

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dreamdu5t
A file server with open wifi placed somewhere in an urban downtown setting.
See what people share.

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orangethirty
I'm about to set them up for the company I'm working for as cheap remote
servers. Each of them will have an API for me to connect to from the main
server. Cool use case, and fun. Total Rpi used will be about 20-ish.

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deadfall
I setup OpenELEC on one Pi. It connects to a network server with my media
files on it. Portable entertainment system for any TV I hook it to. I have
another that I am trying to figure out what to do with.

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Dnguyen
My mom had a stroke recently and is paralyzed on the right side. I'm using the
Raspberry Pi to make her an exercise machine to keep her from muscle atrophy.

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yossilac
Sounds interesting! Would love some more details.

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Dnguyen
I got an old Craftman garage motor. It has the torque I'm looking for. I got a
LifeGear rowing machine on Craigslist for $50. I like this one because the
seat and track is used for the leg exercise, moving the leg back and forth.
The extra arm and pullies I use for the arm exercise, using her good arm to
move the other arm. That way, both arms are getting exercise. The base is
built out of 3 in. PVC pipes. Since she's only 115 pounds, it's more than
enough to hold her weight. And PVC are super easy to work with. Using a
Raspberry Pi and a Gertboard to control the motor, I can set how far back and
forth to move the leg assembly. My next step is to hook the Raspberry Pi to an
iPod and let my mom control the speed and duration of the exercise.

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christiangenco
Set it up to boot into a web page on startup and refresh every ten minute.

In theory, I'll have useful information on the webpage. Right now I have a
picture of a cat.

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canatan01
Besides maker projects I see that the R-Pi is many times used as a media
center with XBMC.

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tixocloud
Yeah, that was my initial idea but the current naked state of the Pi has me
hunting for nice cases.

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DanBC
([http://crushbeercrushcode.org/2013/03/developing-the-
rogue-p...](http://crushbeercrushcode.org/2013/03/developing-the-rogue-pi/))

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Fzzr
A friend and I share one that's hosted at his house, we use it as a mumble
server, and plan possibly to host other shared services.

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copiga
in the process of making a better-than-stock security system for the land
rover defender.

