WP7/8 – Net Tools Pro
My first Windows Phone application is on the marketplace (or will be in the next 12 or so hours).
Net Tools Pro does basic networking commands – Ping, NSLookup & TraceRt. These are simple commands, but unavailable from the phone’s API. So, it uses a web service, where the actual commands are sent out. The app also lets you create secondary tiles which deep link to the command in question.
I picked this project mainly because it would involve Azure & WP7 development. Azure didn’t work out, because they don’t allow Ping (ICMP) out from Azure servers. This is understandable, since they want to avoid having people use the power of the cloud for DoS attacks. Right now it’s just a regular old web service on a hosted server.
The biggest hurdle: Microsoft’s AppHub took over two weeks to approve the app. This was due, in part, to the fact that they rolled up a new version of the AppHub shortly after I submitted the app.
While waiting for the app to release, I was able to finish the last few tweaks & features originally envisioned. Once the latest version is approved (don’t hold your breath), the LiveTiles for Ping commands will periodically check and report back (by Toast & ‘warning’ LiveTile) if the host stops responding.
See it here…
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/5e02d49e-2098-4e3d-8566-082a660dffe0