dns not working

[Jacobs, James]

Title: dns not working

I'm testing Linux to see if it is a viable desktop os and have run in to a problem.  I'm new to Linux
and I can't seem to ping any client that is not in my host file.  Shouldn't DNS handle that.  I have the nameserver in resolve.conf and the correct wins server in smb.conf.  I can ping any address on our network and if I put the entry in my hosts file I can then ping by computer name or netbios name.  What else do I need to do.  I am a newbie so any answers should be in a Linux for dummies format, if you know what I mean.  Thanks for the help.