SSRS Error: rsLogonFailed

Today I encountered an error when attempting to generate a newly deployed report in SQL Reporting Services. The error follows:

Logon failure. (rsLogonFailed)

Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007052E)

The first area I examined was the data source and its stored credentials. That, of course, wasn't the issue as I was able to query data in Visual Studio as well as preview the report. When I realized that all other reports that had been previously deployed to the server generated the same error, I knew I had problem a with the server.

Fortunately a quick search online revealed the answer. The culprit was the server's Execution Account. This is defined in the Reporting Services Configuration tool as shown in the image below. You see, I used my domain account when performing this setup step when testing some other functionality months earlier - you are not required to specify an Execution Account by default. So when I changed my domain password several weeks ago this broke the generation of all reports on my report server.

Specifying the new password for my account resolved the issue and I was able to generate reports once again. Perhaps in the future I will use a domain account other than my own so that a change in password does not cause headaches.

Credit goes to user Nathan Griffiths-187644 of the sqlservercentral.com forums who posted the solution.

Web Designer Depot guides us on Minimalism

Kayla Knight wrote a wonderful piece for Web Designer Depot on minimalist web design. She breaks down what the purpose of minimalist design is with the goal of helping you achieve minimalism while maintaining beauty. A few nice tips are included such as how to minimize content, effective use of white space and the use of a wireframe. She also showcases several minimalist design examples. Personally, I like the pages of Symour Powell, Icon Werk and Checkland Kindlysides best.

One of the most visually appealing and well-built sites I've seen in recent memory is owned by Mono, a creative ad and marketing agency based in Minneapolis. Their clients include USA Networks, AMC, General Mills and Hitachi to name a few. If you are interested in minimalist design for the web be sure to check out Kayla's article to pick up a few pointers.

iPhone is getting MMS... What's missing now?

With the upcoming inclusion of MMS for the iPhone, you might be thinking,"Finally, it's actually a usable phone now!"  But what else is it missing?  I can think of a few things that I don't hear anyone talking about and one that I didn't know I wanted until I learned the competition had it.

What does every other phone I've owned have that the iPhone does not?  Sound profiles.  The first phone I ever owned was a Nokia 5185i.  It had a black and white screen, no internet, no music player and no camera, but it had sound profiles.  A little boring right?  Well, let's take this idea one step further and talk about settings profiles, because that's what I really want.  I want the ability to quickly select a profile that controls a wide range of settings instead of having to visit each individual setting to turn it on or off. 

Here is my real-world example.  I am leaving for work in the morning and as I get into my car I set the iPhone to my "Car" profile.  This turns off WiFi, turns on Bluetooth, brings it out of silence mode, and sets the ringtone to "Old Phone" so I can clearly distinguish the phone ringing from my car stereo.  When I arrive at the office, I switch to my "Office" profile which turns WiFi on, Bluetooth off, and silences the phone.  With the WiFi setting 3 clicks away and Bluetooth 4 clicks away, performing these tasks manually on a regular basis is annoying to the point where I just don't do it.  However, if I had settings profiles I could really take control of the state of my iPhone at all times, simply and easily.

This can idea can be improved on by adding another layer.  What if my iPhone knew what state I wanted it to be in wherever I went?  Combine settings profiles with location awareness and then the phone would automatically change to my "Office" profile when I get to the office!  Add a better To-Do list function and make it location aware and your grocery list pops up when you get to the grocery store, your home chores list comes up when you get home, and your list of unfinished tasks you made before leaving work last night is available right when you walk in the door the next morning.

Now all these notifications of what you as a responsible person should be doing each and every moment of every day might get annoying.  Who wants to be nagged nagged nagged all day long, right?  This is where I like the Palm Pre, it has very useful yet unobtrusive notifications.  When the iPhone has to notify you about something you are interrupted and forced to deal with it before you can continue doing anything else.  I'm not asking Apple to copy the Pre's functionality, but it would be nice to see a redesign of notifications on the iPhone.

While we are trying to be responsible adults, we might as well have a better calendar and the improvement I want to see is integration with maps.  The Location field in the calendar is currently only a placeholder for text.  It would be much more useful if I could lookup a location either by being taken to a map, searching for and selecting an address or by assigning an address from one of my contacts.  This could be done in reverse order as well.  You go into Maps, find a restaurant, and create a calendar event for it.  Inviting friends out for dinner or cocktails would be very easy when you send them an invitation directly from the calendar with the date, time and a map of the restaurant.

What do you wish your phone would do?

Jared Bickler - He's Good People

On this second annual Good People Day I would like to acknowledge a very good friend who works very hard both for himself and for the benefit of others.  His name is Jared Bickler and our friendship goes back to a summer job at a golf course. 

For as long as I can remember, Jared has been involved in the community in a very noble and positive way.  Whether it be through mentoring programs where he spends time taking on a big brother role in a young child's life or by raising money for charitable organizations like the Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest, Jared has always given more than anyone is ever asked to give.

Jared also has an entrepreneurial spirit and he recognizes the importance of encouraging that attitude in young people.  His choice of community organizations reflects that and so did his early career choice.  A few years ago, the Minot Junior Golf Association built a new course that catered to a different golfer, the young golfer, and Jared jumped at the opportunity to be its first manager.  The course is called the Jack Hoeven Wee Links and at a cost of $1 per round, it's designed for the kids.  Nine holes stretch out to 769 yards for a par of 27.  If you're an adult and want to play, you must be accompanied by a child.  Jared did a wonderful job teaching children the rules of golf, sportsmanship and keeping them safe during their round.

It is for these reasons and much more that I want to thank Jared for his friendship and commitment to his community by highlighting him for Good People Day 2009.  Thank you, Jared!

The following is a message I received from Jared describing his participation in the 2009 METRO bigBOWL.  Please read it and consider sponsoring him.

*****

Hello Everyone,

I'm taking part in the 2009 METRO bigBOWL to raise money for Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest, Inc.

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. These programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities. This unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. As little as $20 can help sponsor a student in the program for a year, so every little bit helps!

If you are interested in making a difference related to this cause, please make a donation by visiting my Firstgiving page: http://www.firstgiving.com/jaredbickler

You can donate online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest, Inc. by Firstgiving, who will email you a printable record of your donation.

Please send my page on to anyone who might like to donate! Your help is very much appreciated!

Jared

Good People Day 2009

Can one man declare a holiday? On the internet, yes!

That is why this friday, April 3rd, is the second annual Good People Day.  It is a day to celebrate the outstanding people in your life.  Whether it be the compassion they have for friends, family and strangers, the hard work they do, or simply the warm smile that is always there, let these people know how much you appreciate them. How? Write a blog post highlighting a good friend, recommend friends on twitter, or tag awesome people on flickr and in facebook photos.  Whatever and wherever it is remember to use the tag GPD09. 

But don't stop there, take it to the real world too.  Get your mother flowers, send someone a thank you card just because, paint a mural in someone's honor, whatever!  It doesn't really matter how you do it, as long as you show the people you admire how much they mean to you and let the rest of the world know too.

The man behind this wonderful internet holiday is Gary Vaynerchuk.  Yes, that over-the-top wine guru/social branding expert/insane Jets fan your geeky friend keeps talking about.  So let me be one of the first to put Gary at the top of my list of Good People by saying, thanks Gary and an early congratulations on your approaching fatherhood!