If you want to use those 256 color applications, you will have to run all your programs at 256 colors. The X configuration is something Linux users have had to endure like an ancient tribal ritual. It is often accompanied by screams of frustration, loss of sleep and hardware flying across the room. It is extremely robust and easy to configure. Red Hat has also started shipping Metro-X with their commercial 4.x distribution of Linux.
Configuration is a snap.
If you make a mistake or upgrade hardware, changes can be made in a matter of seconds. Configuration GUI System Requirements Metro Link recommends a minimum configuration of 8MB of RAM and 12MB of hard disk space. I would recommend a minimum of 16MB of memory and a 486 33MHz CPU, as less than 16MB doesn't leave much room for applications. Metro-X is not a complete replacement for XFree86, just for the XFree86 X Server. Price Pricing is very reasonable.