My nephew asked for some "real hacking tools" from Santa, so I'm planning to create a bootable Linux USB stick with educational software and games to help him learn. I want him to be able to boot from it using either his dad's Windows PC or his mom's M2 MacBook. What Linux distribution would be best for this purpose? It's important that it boots and runs but doesn't overwrite the existing systems. I have access to an M2 MacBook and an older Windows 11 machine for the setup.
4 Answers
That's an awesome idea! A Raspberry Pi sounds perfect for learning. Plus, it avoids any potential issues with the Macs. If you do want to focus on the Windows PC, you can always say that the ‘hacking tools’ were too much work for the elves to create for Macs.
You might want to try Fedora with Sugar on a Stick. Just a heads up, you might need to unlock the bootloader on the Mac, which can be a bit tricky. If he can read well, Knoppix or TAILS might also be good options since they’re user-friendly and run directly without installation.
Keep in mind that running Linux on M2 Macs is still a bit challenging. You'd have to use Asahi Linux, but it won't support all the hardware features, like video decoding. A great alternative is the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, which can run loads of programming resources and even play games through RetroArch if you want to go that route.
Haha, yeah, be careful! If he messes up dad's PC, you'll really be in trouble! Just make sure you teach him responsible use; otherwise, he might end up switching everyone's laptops to Linux!
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