They started out as a great option for kids from poor backgrounds to learn to code. Schools usually have really locked down PCs and a raspberry pi let them sidestep a lot of that.

I managed to (just about) run a home media server off one for a few years until I could afford a better setup. Now I have it running as a replacement for my ‘smart’ TV’s spyware riddled OS which even has HDMI passthrough for the remote control input.

They are useful, versatile, and still fairly cheap considering the cost of components now.