On my Windows7, when I get into the properties of My Computer, I can see that my computer name is compname123. It seems that when I ping or connect (say remote access) to this computer from another computer, I can just write in the hostname compname123 without having to write the IP address. In this sense, the compname123, which is a computer name, is almost like a meaningful hostname that will resolve to the IP address automatically.
But is this really a hostname?
I notice that sometimes when the IP changes, I will not be able to connect from another computer using the computer name for a while. Somehow, though, the computer name will automatically reflect the new IP after some time.
Is my computer name a hostname? Can I even say I want my computer name to be stuck to a certain IP, especially in the case when I'm going to use a static IP? If so, how can I do this?