The raspberry pi isn't the most powerful single-board computer. It isn't the cheapest. Some of the hardware design could actually be improved quite a bit (usb and ethernet on the same bus). What makes the Pi special is the community. Almost any use for the Pi you can think of has been done before, so when you come to build your project there is a wealth of knowledge and help available. Distros such as OSMC, Retropie, and OctoPi simply the process of setting up a media centre, retro game console, or 3D printing system greatly. In this way the Pi has surpassed its original purpose as just an educational computer
For me, the Raspberry pi is one of the reasons I got into computing and programming. I was fascinated at how versatile and easy to use it was to use. The fact that it was less than $100 for a full setup made it even better.
