First question on site
I just purchased a vista machine and I want to use it to access fines and programs on an XP machine on a wireless home network. What software would you recommend?

Thanks

You need to share the drive on the XP machine. Note that, in general, you will not be able to run programs that are on that machine. Those programs were installed on the XP machine and in most cases, there is registry information in the XP machine that will not be on the Vista machine (or any other machine). You can share data files (documents, pictures, etc).

You can also use Remote Desktop Connection, that is built into Windows, to access the desktop of the XP machine. In that case, you will be able to run on the XP machine remotely.

How to install or upgrade to Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316941)

Remote Desktop Connection: frequently asked questions - Windows Vista Help (http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/f55326fa-e629-423b-abba-b30f76cc61e61033.mspx)