How to set up a Raspberry Pi - the (beginners) guide to getting started

If you've purchased (or are considering) a Raspberry Pi but aren't sure what to do next, you've come to the right place. In this video we'll look at getting the Pi up and running - everything from the hardware requirements, to installing the official operating system (Raspbian), and adding additional software. So what are you waiting for? Let's get prolific with our Pi!
Website links:
The official Raspberry Pi website
www.raspberrypi.org/
Further info' about Raspberry Pi HATs (Hardware Attached on Top)
www.raspberrypi.org/blog/intr...
Thingiverse
www.thingiverse.com/
Astro Pi
astro-pi.org/
Pi Projects:
LibreELEC
libreelec.tv/
RetroPie
retropie.org.uk/
openmediavault
www.openmediavault.org/
Pi-hole
pi-hole.net/
Home Assistant
www.home-assistant.io/
Minecraft: Pi Edition
www.minecraft.net/en-us/editi...
PiVPN
www.pivpn.io/
NextCloudPi
Additional credits:
GPIO pin layout image courtesy of CWBudde / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
SparkFun Qwiic HAT for Raspberry Pi image with thanks to SparkFun Electronics from Boulder, USA / CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Official Raspberry Pi Case image kindly made available by the Raspberry Pi Foundation / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Other (original) images sourced from the superb pixabay.com/

[@evvie01]

I love your videos, and bless you for your attention to detail. Do you think this (Raspberry Pi build/setup) is better than re-purposing an old laptop or desktop computer? Will it require a lot of hours to get up and running. You have a lot of projects on your channel that I'd like to have and use but I seem to be just short on time or resources. Your projects seem to build on each other to some extent, which I love, but it keeps making me go back to the beginning almost like a child's board game, Lol. I have a lot of unrelated projects in various stages of progress, both Non-computer projects and some computer projects. Many are around the house, or garden. In other words limited on time and often forget what I learn during a session before I can get back to it. It's frustrating, I learn better in a class setting but none are available to me here in rural Central Missouri, no groups less than 150 miles away.

[@redappleairtraining1090]

Can I use raspberry PI to turn on and off wifi switches according to standards that I set? To give a little more detail, I have created an app and the end goal I am trying to achieve is to have my app turn on and off wifi switches according to the standards I set. There are three different switches that will turn on and off, each switch has a different standard. Is this possible with the raspberry pi? If not, what do you recommend I do to achieve this? Much Appreciated!

[@bytemypi2918]

I'd take a look at Home Assistant. www.home-assistant.io/ This will run on a Raspberry Pi and provides a web interface to set up connections (they're called 'Integrations' in the software) to your smart devices :)