can not browse windows network after Ubuntu 11.10 upgrade

I recently upgraded one of my computers at home with Ubuntu 11.10 (the latest and greatest), just to find that i was not able to browse my NAS from my home network. It seems that in Ubuntu 11.10 the samba network rules/properties do not work the same as in previous versions of Ubuntu.

the fix consists of editing the /etc/hosts file and appending the address and machine name to the file.
in this format:
<IP ADDRESS> <Machine Name>
example:
192.168.0.100 Ubuntu-desktop

this seemed to fix the problem for me where, I was not able to browse my home network.
luckily, I have my router setup with reserved IP addresses for my devices, for example. the Apple TV, NAS, printer, etc.

but if you have dynamically assigned addresses then this fix might not work.