It’s always nice to write for a new magazine, and especially when it’s something a little outside your comfort zone – and with its focus on those starting out with computing, Computeractive is certainly a fair distance away from the likes of Custom PC or Linux User & Developer.

I was approached by commissioning editor Scott Colvey to whip up a three-part series about the Raspberry Pi, starting with an “I’ve just bought it, what the hell now” introduction. As it’s remarkably similar to work I’ve already done on the Raspberry Pi User Guide, I checked with Wiley first who were only too happy for me to reprise some of that content in the magazine.

Starting at first principles – and echoing much of the first chapter of the book, albeit in a significantly condensed form – the first of the three-part series walks users through connecting the Pi to a keyboard, mouse, monitor and network, installing the Raspbian Linux distribution and loading up a graphical user interface. Throughout, I tried to match the easy-reading house style of Computeractive, and with Scott’s help created something I think I can be particularly proud of.

Initial feedback on the piece has been promising, with one reader writing in to say “thank you for what I believe is the best introductory article that I have read on setting up the basic motherboard and system software.” Which is nice.

Next issue’s feature will look at using Python and the pygame module to write a Snake game – another modified extract from the book, you may note – while the third treads new ground by creating a custom-built games controller that connects to the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO port.

Computeractive Issue 381 is available in newsagents now for £1.99 – a bargain if ever there was one – or through the Computeractive Direct website.