I used a portable hard drive for the transfer, and it worked very well and also served as a backup drive for my computer. There's also a special USB cable that can be used for transfers - they usually cost about $30, which I think is a bit high.

A few computers ago, I bought a parallel cable and transferred data through my printer port. It did the job, but it took all night. The same amount of data would transfer in minutes on a USB 2.0 connection.
Your easiest solution may be what was suggested above - a flash drive.

I'm surprised you can still purchase a new computer with Windows XP. I'm holding off on a computer purchase so I can get Windows 7, although I haven't had any significant problems with Windows Vista.

-Joe-