WinXP is the right choice for a network server because it's the only OS which can be accessed by both, modern Vista-oid systems and ancient SMB implementations like used for AmigaOS.
Hmm. I've had no problem accessing latest linux samba share by using smbfs.
That being said, I haven't used vista/7 to connect to my NAS, but I have hard time believing there would be be any problems.
