As far as system specifics, most laptops these days will do more than enough for you to take care of your emails and office applications. What you'll want to look for is something with Windows 7, at least 3-4 GB of RAM, and a good processor. Seeing that the cheapest of laptops these days run between $350 to $500, somewhere in the $500 or above price range should come with all that and more. But if you are not sure, please ask the store associate, as that is what they are there for. If you are ordering online, make sure you read the reviews.
Name brand is also something to watch out for. I tend to stay away from HP and Dell - not that they're bad, but they're known for having more issues (in my opinion). I think Lenovo is a great brand these days. I'd also think an Acer is a good brand, as well as Toshiba. I agree you should probably check these out in the store, as you'll need to get a feel for size, comfort, and ease of use of how the layout is on it.
As far as scrolling from side to side, the site you are on now is built a little goofy. Most websites and applications are built to resize themselves based on the screen resolution you have set up. I would not worry about this.
