Answer 1

If you are just getting started, basically any laptop should be fine. However I would advise to either use linux machine or a mac (no need to buy the latest model), since I experienced it is easier to configure stuff and on top, it feels like you also get more help online.
I started with a 7 year old Windows 7 laptop, which did not bother me too much for the first time. I ended up buying a mac one year later, because I love brew install (more than chocolatey), I'm a fan of iterm/zsh, I did not want to deal any longer with vm issues or the ubuntu shell and it felt wrong that occasionally I had to touch something in the boot menu (e.g. get a minikube to run). And the touchpad was an eye opener, but I guess that is personal bias.