I spent a few minutes poking around Scannify with one of our developers this morning. To those of you just tuning in, Scannify is a new Android app from the Connectify team. The application, which is already available on the Android Market, offers port-scanning, network discovery, launching of services, and a host of other value-added features to any Android device. Simply put, Scannify allows you to see who’s on your Wi-Fi network, share files with connected devices, and even run a variety of programs and services remotely, right from your Android phone or tablet.
Anyhow, while using Scannify to roam around our office Wi-Fi network today, I was reminded of a useful, and often-overlooked feature: you can drop Scannify widgets right onto the Android desktop for one-touch access to frequently used peers and services. Do you find yourself running Scannify to share files with your work PC or to access iTunes on your tablet fairly often? Use the desktop widget functionality, and you can launch these regularly used devices and services right from your Android desktop.
To use Scannify desktop widgets, navigate to the Android desktop and hold your finger down on an empty space to activate the Android desktop menu. Then select ‘Widget’ and choose the Scannify widget from the desktop menu. From here you've got the ability to make custom widgets for any device on your network. For even quicker access, create widgets that directly launch host services like Remote Desktop and Windows file-sharing right from your Android desktop.
