Yes, the 17" powerbook will run Windoze programs a little slower than you may be used to. You must buy the Virtual PC program to enable this. Look at buying the Microsoft Office package that includes the Virtual PC program as one part of it.
Online retailers such as macmall.com and macwarehouse.com carry all the hardware and software.
The 17 incher is a fantastic machine!
"the Microsoft Office package that includes the Virtual PC program as one part of it. "
That's what I wanted to hear. I use Virtual PC for software development. It is a bit slow but it does the job fairly well.