I'd go with a Dell. 10 + years in the business and never had issues with Dell laptops, my wife is on her second one now (bought her a new one for Christmas just for performance purposes) and I think they are a great value! All the bells and whistles, not a lot of cost. Unless you are doing digital video editing, or gaming, you don't need a lot to get you bye. The only consideration is weight, are you going to be carrying this around, if so you would want a 15" screen to reduce weight..if it's going to be a portable unit most the time, then get a larger screen! NO Celeron Processors..ever.
Start here..
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
I opted out of glossy screens for my wife as if you are in decent lit areas, makes your screen hard to read. 2GB+ memory and then anything else you want is up to you!
Open Office 3 just came out (free competitor to Microsoft Office) could always check that out before spending bucko bucks on MS products.
Hope this helps, ask any further questions if you need!