Is it me or are a lot of these the "Do X using a Rasberry Pi" really just "Do X on any linux box, maybe a Rasberry pi, but anything that runs linux and has the port you need will work.
Yes, but the Pis are cheap, easy to find, basically interchangeable, and have low power draw, all of which makes them more attractive for this kind of project.
Exactly my point above -- oh, to fix this client issue I need a relaible system (Debian) -- but I can't run on their own hardware cause they like Windows (and turn machines off) -- so just spend $50-USD for the Pi, Power, SD and software and bing-bam-boom -- great success. Put a camera in their and now you've got a very smart security camera -- for such discount -- this commodity hardware is a game changing thing.