Mac OS X 10.5 Help
Finding your computer’s name and address
If you share files on a network or host a website on your computer, you’ll need to tell other people your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address or name. In addition, you might want to pick a name to use for your computer when you join an unmanaged, impromptu network such as a computer-to-computer wireless network.
Here are ways to find your computer’s name:
To see your current computer’s name, local hostname, or network address, choose Apple > System Preferences, and then click Sharing.
To change your computer’s name, type a new name in the Computer Name field.
To change your computer’s Local Hostname, click Edit and type a new name.
To see the address of the services you are providing, such as screen sharing, select the service. The address is displayed in the window.
When you turn on file sharing, users can find your computer’s name listed when they browse available servers using the Finder (choose Go > Network or click the Network icon on the left in a Finder window).
The local hostname for your computer is an alternative to the network address. It is followed by “.local”. Users on the same network subnet as your computer can use the local hostname to access certain resources on your computer, such as your personal website.
The network address is provided by the Domain Name System (DNS) name server your computer uses or, if you don’t use a name service, is derived from your computer name. Unless you use a fixed IP address, your IP address may change each time you connect to your network or the Internet. If the computer name ends in “.local” it is useful only on your local network. If you work in a large network environment, users on a different IP subnet cannot use it.