[maven-release-plugin] prepare release jclouds-1.6.0-alpha.1
diff --git a/all/pom.xml b/all/pom.xml
index 6ddc4f0..6dabb01 100644
--- a/all/pom.xml
+++ b/all/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>        
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-all</artifactId>
diff --git a/allblobstore/pom.xml b/allblobstore/pom.xml
index 5737d61..2e7f46d 100644
--- a/allblobstore/pom.xml
+++ b/allblobstore/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>        
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-allblobstore</artifactId>
diff --git a/allcompute/pom.xml b/allcompute/pom.xml
index 679a26f..3ff69a6 100644
--- a/allcompute/pom.xml
+++ b/allcompute/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>        
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-allcompute</artifactId>
diff --git a/allloadbalancer/pom.xml b/allloadbalancer/pom.xml
index e739572..de1b808 100644
--- a/allloadbalancer/pom.xml
+++ b/allloadbalancer/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>        
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-allloadbalancer</artifactId>
diff --git a/apis/atmos/pom.xml b/apis/atmos/pom.xml
index a48267f..23f10a9 100644
--- a/apis/atmos/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/atmos/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
 
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.atmos.endpoint>https://accesspoint.atmosonline.com</test.atmos.endpoint>
     <test.atmos.api-version>1.3.0</test.atmos.api-version>
-    <test.atmos.build-version></test.atmos.build-version>
+    <test.atmos.build-version />
     <test.atmos.identity>FIXME</test.atmos.identity>
     <test.atmos.credential>FIXME</test.atmos.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/byon/pom.xml b/apis/byon/pom.xml
index 119ab45..60cc22e 100644
--- a/apis/byon/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/byon/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 
   <properties>
     <test.byon.endpoint>file://c:/test.txt</test.byon.endpoint>
-    <test.byon.sudo-password></test.byon.sudo-password>
+    <test.byon.sudo-password />
       <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.byon*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
       <jclouds.osgi.import>
           org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/apis/cloudfiles/pom.xml b/apis/cloudfiles/pom.xml
index 6359abe..7ffec87 100644
--- a/apis/cloudfiles/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/cloudfiles/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     <test.blobstore.container-count>15</test.blobstore.container-count>
     <test.cloudfiles.endpoint>https://auth.api.rackspacecloud.com</test.cloudfiles.endpoint>
     <test.cloudfiles.api-version>1.0</test.cloudfiles.api-version>
-    <test.cloudfiles.build-version></test.cloudfiles.build-version>
+    <test.cloudfiles.build-version />
     <test.cloudfiles.identity>${test.rackspace.identity}</test.cloudfiles.identity>
     <test.cloudfiles.credential>${test.rackspace.credential}</test.cloudfiles.credential>
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.cloudfiles*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/apis/cloudservers/pom.xml b/apis/cloudservers/pom.xml
index a9f3749..e6af2be 100644
--- a/apis/cloudservers/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/cloudservers/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
 
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudservers.endpoint>https://auth.api.rackspacecloud.com</test.cloudservers.endpoint>
     <test.cloudservers.api-version>1.0</test.cloudservers.api-version>
-    <test.cloudservers.build-version></test.cloudservers.build-version>
+    <test.cloudservers.build-version />
     <test.cloudservers.identity>${test.rackspace.identity}</test.cloudservers.identity>
     <test.cloudservers.credential>${test.rackspace.credential}</test.cloudservers.credential>
-    <test.cloudservers.template></test.cloudservers.template>
+    <test.cloudservers.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.cloudservers*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/apis/cloudsigma/pom.xml b/apis/cloudsigma/pom.xml
index b946d74..5d91788 100644
--- a/apis/cloudsigma/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/cloudsigma/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudsigma.endpoint>https://api.cloudsigma.com</test.cloudsigma.endpoint>
     <test.cloudsigma.api-version>1.0</test.cloudsigma.api-version>
-    <test.cloudsigma.build-version></test.cloudsigma.build-version>
+    <test.cloudsigma.build-version />
     <test.cloudsigma.identity>FIXME</test.cloudsigma.identity>
     <test.cloudsigma.credential>FIXME</test.cloudsigma.credential>
     <test.cloudsigma.template>imageId=f3c7c665-cd54-4a78-8fd2-7ec2f028cf29</test.cloudsigma.template>
diff --git a/apis/cloudstack/pom.xml b/apis/cloudstack/pom.xml
index 21c316b..bc920cc 100644
--- a/apis/cloudstack/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/cloudstack/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -50,14 +50,14 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudstack.endpoint>http://localhost:8080/client/api</test.cloudstack.endpoint>
     <test.cloudstack.api-version>3.0.3</test.cloudstack.api-version>
-    <test.cloudstack.build-version></test.cloudstack.build-version>
+    <test.cloudstack.build-version />
     <test.cloudstack.identity>FIXME_apiKey</test.cloudstack.identity>
     <test.cloudstack.credential>FIXME_secretKey</test.cloudstack.credential>
-    <test.cloudstack.domainAdminIdentity></test.cloudstack.domainAdminIdentity>
-    <test.cloudstack.domainAdminCredential></test.cloudstack.domainAdminCredential>
-    <test.cloudstack.globalAdminIdentity></test.cloudstack.globalAdminIdentity>
-    <test.cloudstack.globalAdminCredential></test.cloudstack.globalAdminCredential>
-    <test.cloudstack.template></test.cloudstack.template>
+    <test.cloudstack.domainAdminIdentity />
+    <test.cloudstack.domainAdminCredential />
+    <test.cloudstack.globalAdminIdentity />
+    <test.cloudstack.globalAdminCredential />
+    <test.cloudstack.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.cloudstack*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/apis/cloudwatch/pom.xml b/apis/cloudwatch/pom.xml
index c03f04a..88a462e 100644
--- a/apis/cloudwatch/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/cloudwatch/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudwatch.endpoint>https://monitoring.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.cloudwatch.endpoint>
     <test.cloudwatch.api-version>2010-08-01</test.cloudwatch.api-version>
-    <test.cloudwatch.build-version></test.cloudwatch.build-version>
+    <test.cloudwatch.build-version />
     <test.cloudwatch.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.cloudwatch.identity>
     <test.cloudwatch.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.cloudwatch.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/ec2/pom.xml b/apis/ec2/pom.xml
index 16bf074..cdc88c5 100644
--- a/apis/ec2/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/ec2/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.ec2.endpoint>https://ec2.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.ec2.endpoint>
     <test.ec2.api-version>2010-06-15</test.ec2.api-version>
-    <test.ec2.build-version></test.ec2.build-version>
+    <test.ec2.build-version />
     <test.ec2.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.ec2.identity>
     <test.ec2.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.ec2.credential>
-    <test.ec2.template></test.ec2.template>
+    <test.ec2.template />
     <test.ec2.ebs-template>hardwareId=m1.small,imageId=us-west-2/ami-38c64a08</test.ec2.ebs-template>
     <!-- Windows_Server-2008-R2 with WinRM enabled (setup instructions at http://www.frontiertown.co.uk/2011/12/overthere-control-windows-from-java/) -->
     <test.ec2.windows-template>hardwareId=m1.small,imageId=us-east-1/ami-0cb76d65</test.ec2.windows-template>
diff --git a/apis/elasticstack/pom.xml b/apis/elasticstack/pom.xml
index a2f2ecc..f8570b8 100644
--- a/apis/elasticstack/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/elasticstack/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.elasticstack.endpoint>https://api-lon-p.elastichosts.com</test.elasticstack.endpoint>
     <test.elasticstack.api-version>2.0</test.elasticstack.api-version>
-    <test.elasticstack.build-version></test.elasticstack.build-version>
+    <test.elasticstack.build-version />
     <test.elasticstack.identity>FIXME</test.elasticstack.identity>
     <test.elasticstack.credential>FIXME</test.elasticstack.credential>
     <test.elasticstack.template>imageId=38df0986-4d85-4b76-b502-3878ffc80161,loginUser=toor</test.elasticstack.template>
diff --git a/apis/filesystem/pom.xml b/apis/filesystem/pom.xml
index 517a236..f8561f3 100644
--- a/apis/filesystem/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/filesystem/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
diff --git a/apis/openstack-cinder/pom.xml b/apis/openstack-cinder/pom.xml
index 5d0f3e5..9e52ec0 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-cinder/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/openstack-cinder/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     <test.openstack-cinder.endpoint>http://localhost:5000/v2.0/</test.openstack-cinder.endpoint>
     <!-- keystone version -->
     <test.openstack-cinder.api-version>1</test.openstack-cinder.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-cinder.build-version></test.openstack-cinder.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-cinder.build-version />
     <test.openstack-cinder.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-cinder.identity>
     <test.openstack-cinder.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.openstack-cinder.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/apis/openstack-keystone/pom.xml b/apis/openstack-keystone/pom.xml
index 3f301df..183ff0b 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-keystone/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/openstack-keystone/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     <test.openstack-keystone.endpoint>http://localhost:5000/v${jclouds.api-version}/</test.openstack-keystone.endpoint>
     <!-- keystone version -->
     <test.openstack-keystone.api-version>2.0</test.openstack-keystone.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-keystone.build-version></test.openstack-keystone.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-keystone.build-version />
     <test.openstack-keystone.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-keystone.identity>
     <test.openstack-keystone.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.openstack-keystone.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/apis/openstack-nova-ec2/pom.xml b/apis/openstack-nova-ec2/pom.xml
index 7cb0e77..3e49039 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-nova-ec2/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/openstack-nova-ec2/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@
   <properties>
     <test.openstack-nova-ec2.endpoint>http://localhost:8773/services/Cloud</test.openstack-nova-ec2.endpoint>
     <test.openstack-nova-ec2.api-version>2010-06-15</test.openstack-nova-ec2.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-nova-ec2.build-version></test.openstack-nova-ec2.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-nova-ec2.build-version />
     <test.openstack-nova-ec2.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-nova-ec2.identity>
     <test.openstack-nova-ec2.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.openstack-nova-ec2.credential>
-    <test.openstack-nova-ec2.template></test.openstack-nova-ec2.template>
-    <test.openstack-nova-ec2.ebs-template></test.openstack-nova-ec2.ebs-template>
+    <test.openstack-nova-ec2.template />
+    <test.openstack-nova-ec2.ebs-template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.openstack.nova.ec2*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/apis/openstack-nova/pom.xml b/apis/openstack-nova/pom.xml
index 5d75a9c..a6ecd47 100644
--- a/apis/openstack-nova/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/openstack-nova/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -38,10 +38,10 @@
     <test.openstack-nova.endpoint>http://localhost:5000/v2.0/</test.openstack-nova.endpoint>
     <!-- keystone version -->
     <test.openstack-nova.api-version>1.1</test.openstack-nova.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-nova.build-version></test.openstack-nova.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-nova.build-version />
     <test.openstack-nova.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-nova.identity>
     <test.openstack-nova.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.openstack-nova.credential>
-    <test.openstack-nova.template></test.openstack-nova.template>
+    <test.openstack-nova.template />
     <test.jclouds.openstack-nova.auto-allocate-floating-ips>false</test.jclouds.openstack-nova.auto-allocate-floating-ips>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
 
diff --git a/apis/pom.xml b/apis/pom.xml
index 4d5607e..836ffd6 100644
--- a/apis/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
diff --git a/apis/rackspace-cloudidentity/pom.xml b/apis/rackspace-cloudidentity/pom.xml
index ed752c9..c7545da 100644
--- a/apis/rackspace-cloudidentity/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/rackspace-cloudidentity/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     <test.rackspace-cloudidentity.endpoint>https://identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v${jclouds.api-version}/</test.rackspace-cloudidentity.endpoint>
     <!-- keystone version -->
     <test.rackspace-cloudidentity.api-version>2.0</test.rackspace-cloudidentity.api-version>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudidentity.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudidentity.build-version>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudidentity.build-version />
     <test.rackspace-cloudidentity.identity>${test.rackspace-us.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudidentity.identity>
     <test.rackspace-cloudidentity.credential>${test.rackspace-us.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudidentity.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>RAX-KSKEY:apiKeyCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/apis/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers/pom.xml b/apis/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers/pom.xml
index dfbae8f..ae41c33 100644
--- a/apis/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
    <properties>
     <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.endpoint>https://identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.endpoint>
     <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.api-version>1</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.api-version>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.build-version>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.build-version />
     <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.identity>${test.rackspace.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.identity>
     <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.credential>${test.rackspace.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/route53/pom.xml b/apis/route53/pom.xml
index 87872af..e98b897 100644
--- a/apis/route53/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/route53/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.route53.endpoint>https://route53.amazonaws.com</test.route53.endpoint>
     <test.route53.api-version>2012-02-29</test.route53.api-version>
-    <test.route53.build-version></test.route53.build-version>
+    <test.route53.build-version />
     <test.route53.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.route53.identity>
     <test.route53.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.route53.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/s3/pom.xml b/apis/s3/pom.xml
index 6f9b1db..2dad25a 100644
--- a/apis/s3/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/s3/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.s3.endpoint>https://s3.amazonaws.com</test.s3.endpoint>
     <test.s3.api-version>2006-03-01</test.s3.api-version>
-    <test.s3.build-version></test.s3.build-version>
+    <test.s3.build-version />
     <test.s3.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.s3.identity>
     <test.s3.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.s3.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/sqs/pom.xml b/apis/sqs/pom.xml
index c377f70..a1a3362 100644
--- a/apis/sqs/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/sqs/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.sqs.endpoint>https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.sqs.endpoint>
         <test.sqs.api-version>2011-10-01</test.sqs.api-version>
-        <test.sqs.build-version></test.sqs.build-version>
+        <test.sqs.build-version />
         <test.sqs.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.sqs.identity>
         <test.sqs.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.sqs.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/sts/pom.xml b/apis/sts/pom.xml
index b8f6399..9bd618a 100644
--- a/apis/sts/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/sts/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.sts.endpoint>https://sts.amazonaws.com</test.sts.endpoint>
     <test.sts.api-version>2011-06-15</test.sts.api-version>
-    <test.sts.build-version></test.sts.build-version>
+    <test.sts.build-version />
     <test.sts.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.sts.identity>
     <test.sts.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.sts.credential>
 
diff --git a/apis/swift/pom.xml b/apis/swift/pom.xml
index 4d7e108..e39aa90 100644
--- a/apis/swift/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/swift/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -39,14 +39,14 @@
 
     <test.swift.endpoint>http://localhost:11000</test.swift.endpoint>
     <test.swift.api-version>1.0</test.swift.api-version>
-    <test.swift.build-version></test.swift.build-version>
+    <test.swift.build-version />
     <test.swift.identity>test:tester</test.swift.identity>
     <test.swift.credential>testing</test.swift.credential>
 
     <!-- keystone endpoint -->
     <test.swift-keystone.endpoint>http://localhost:5000</test.swift-keystone.endpoint>
     <test.swift-keystone.api-version>1.0</test.swift-keystone.api-version>
-    <test.swift-keystone.build-version></test.swift-keystone.build-version>
+    <test.swift-keystone.build-version />
     <test.swift-keystone.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.swift-keystone.identity>
     <test.swift-keystone.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.swift-keystone.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/apis/vcloud/pom.xml b/apis/vcloud/pom.xml
index efe3182..5a36349 100644
--- a/apis/vcloud/pom.xml
+++ b/apis/vcloud/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.vcloud.endpoint>FIXME</test.vcloud.endpoint>
     <test.vcloud.api-version>1.0</test.vcloud.api-version>
-    <test.vcloud.build-version></test.vcloud.build-version>
+    <test.vcloud.build-version />
     <test.vcloud.identity>FIXME</test.vcloud.identity>
     <test.vcloud.credential>FIXME</test.vcloud.credential>
-    <test.vcloud.template></test.vcloud.template>
+    <test.vcloud.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.vcloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/archetypes/compute-service-archetype/pom.xml b/archetypes/compute-service-archetype/pom.xml
index e1a5d40..1fe9153 100644
--- a/archetypes/compute-service-archetype/pom.xml
+++ b/archetypes/compute-service-archetype/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-compute-service-archetype</artifactId>
diff --git a/archetypes/pom.xml b/archetypes/pom.xml
index 69fe1ff..2f10351 100644
--- a/archetypes/pom.xml
+++ b/archetypes/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-archetypes</artifactId>
diff --git a/archetypes/rest-client-archetype/pom.xml b/archetypes/rest-client-archetype/pom.xml
index cdf7fe2..247bc82 100644
--- a/archetypes/rest-client-archetype/pom.xml
+++ b/archetypes/rest-client-archetype/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-rest-client-archetype</artifactId>
diff --git a/assemblies/pom.xml b/assemblies/pom.xml
index be66a43..ac426b5 100644
--- a/assemblies/pom.xml
+++ b/assemblies/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>    
     <artifactId>jclouds-assemblies</artifactId>
diff --git a/blobstore/pom.xml b/blobstore/pom.xml
index 5b088e8..0c36a4b 100644
--- a/blobstore/pom.xml
+++ b/blobstore/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-blobstore</artifactId>
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@
         <connection>scm:svn:http://jclouds.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/blobstore</connection>
         <developerConnection>scm:svn:https://jclouds.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/blobstore</developerConnection>
         <url>http://jclouds.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/blobstore</url>
-    </scm>
+      <tag>jclouds-1.6.0-alpha.1</tag>
+  </scm>
 
     <properties>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/common/azure/pom.xml b/common/azure/pom.xml
index a962989..696b0ce 100644
--- a/common/azure/pom.xml
+++ b/common/azure/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.common</groupId>
diff --git a/common/openstack/pom.xml b/common/openstack/pom.xml
index 0edacdf..ec81b62 100644
--- a/common/openstack/pom.xml
+++ b/common/openstack/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
 
diff --git a/common/pom.xml b/common/pom.xml
index d59b98e..7a734a4 100644
--- a/common/pom.xml
+++ b/common/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.common</groupId>
diff --git a/common/trmk/pom.xml b/common/trmk/pom.xml
index b5884b6..89d433a 100644
--- a/common/trmk/pom.xml
+++ b/common/trmk/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
 
diff --git a/compute/pom.xml b/compute/pom.xml
index 3251879..82d66b3 100644
--- a/compute/pom.xml
+++ b/compute/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
 
diff --git a/core/pom.xml b/core/pom.xml
index bb98c33..42da77e 100644
--- a/core/pom.xml
+++ b/core/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-core</artifactId>
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@
         <connection>scm:svn:http://jclouds.googlecode.com/svn/trunk</connection>
         <developerConnection>scm:svn:https://jclouds.googlecode.com/svn/trunk</developerConnection>
         <url>http://jclouds.googlecode.com/svn/trunk</url>
-    </scm>
+      <tag>jclouds-1.6.0-alpha.1</tag>
+  </scm>
 
     <properties>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/drivers/apachehc/pom.xml b/drivers/apachehc/pom.xml
index b6c5f1f..005ee5d 100644
--- a/drivers/apachehc/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/apachehc/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/bouncycastle/pom.xml b/drivers/bouncycastle/pom.xml
index e0e25df..7a78a4f 100644
--- a/drivers/bouncycastle/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/bouncycastle/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/enterprise/pom.xml b/drivers/enterprise/pom.xml
index b89c5e3..73454c9 100644
--- a/drivers/enterprise/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/enterprise/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/gae/pom.xml b/drivers/gae/pom.xml
index 0de4ea0..f6c90f4 100644
--- a/drivers/gae/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/gae/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/joda/pom.xml b/drivers/joda/pom.xml
index 20e1ccb..d670416 100644
--- a/drivers/joda/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/joda/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/jsch/pom.xml b/drivers/jsch/pom.xml
index c311cdd..d030762 100644
--- a/drivers/jsch/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/jsch/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/log4j/pom.xml b/drivers/log4j/pom.xml
index 2c6db55..fdd5bce 100644
--- a/drivers/log4j/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/log4j/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/netty/pom.xml b/drivers/netty/pom.xml
index b52819d..7f6e908 100644
--- a/drivers/netty/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/netty/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/pom.xml b/drivers/pom.xml
index bc476ec..a2025ec 100644
--- a/drivers/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-drivers-project</artifactId>
diff --git a/drivers/slf4j/pom.xml b/drivers/slf4j/pom.xml
index 9204a6d..88bcb77 100644
--- a/drivers/slf4j/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/slf4j/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/drivers/sshj/pom.xml b/drivers/sshj/pom.xml
index f3c5509..4ae7e76 100644
--- a/drivers/sshj/pom.xml
+++ b/drivers/sshj/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.driver</groupId>
diff --git a/labs/abiquo/pom.xml b/labs/abiquo/pom.xml
index c23f379..e6ec815 100644
--- a/labs/abiquo/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/abiquo/pom.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
         <test.abiquo.endpoint>http://localhost/api</test.abiquo.endpoint>
         <test.abiquo.identity>FIXME</test.abiquo.identity>
         <test.abiquo.credential>FIXME</test.abiquo.credential>
-        <test.abiquo.api-version></test.abiquo.api-version>
-        <test.abiquo.build-version></test.abiquo.build-version>
+        <test.abiquo.api-version />
+        <test.abiquo.build-version />
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.abiquo*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>org.jclouds*;version="${project.version}",*</jclouds.osgi.import>
     </properties>
diff --git a/labs/aws-elb/pom.xml b/labs/aws-elb/pom.xml
index 82e0fa0..df1e3b0 100644
--- a/labs/aws-elb/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/aws-elb/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,16 +36,16 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-elb.endpoint>https://elasticloadbalancing.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.aws-elb.endpoint>
         <test.aws-elb.api-version>2012-06-01</test.aws-elb.api-version>
-        <test.aws-elb.build-version></test.aws-elb.build-version>
+        <test.aws-elb.build-version />
         <test.aws-elb.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-elb.identity>
         <test.aws-elb.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-elb.credential>
         <test.aws-elb.compute.provider>aws-ec2</test.aws-elb.compute.provider>
-        <test.aws-elb.compute.endpoint></test.aws-elb.compute.endpoint>
-        <test.aws-elb.compute.api-version></test.aws-elb.compute.api-version>
-        <test.aws-elb.compute.build-version></test.aws-elb.compute.build-version>
+        <test.aws-elb.compute.endpoint />
+        <test.aws-elb.compute.api-version />
+        <test.aws-elb.compute.build-version />
         <test.aws-elb.compute.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-elb.compute.identity>
         <test.aws-elb.compute.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-elb.compute.credential>
-        <test.aws-elb.compute.template></test.aws-elb.compute.template>
+        <test.aws-elb.compute.template />
 
       <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.aws.elb*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
       <jclouds.osgi.import>org.jclouds*;version="${project.version}",*</jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/labs/aws-iam/pom.xml b/labs/aws-iam/pom.xml
index aaea825..93c85a1 100644
--- a/labs/aws-iam/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/aws-iam/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-iam.endpoint>https://iam.amazonaws.com</test.aws-iam.endpoint>
         <test.aws-iam.api-version>2010-05-08</test.aws-iam.api-version>
-        <test.aws-iam.build-version></test.aws-iam.build-version>
+        <test.aws-iam.build-version />
         <test.aws-iam.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-iam.identity>
         <test.aws-iam.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-iam.credential>
 
diff --git a/labs/aws-rds/pom.xml b/labs/aws-rds/pom.xml
index 158b9c9..feaf9cf 100644
--- a/labs/aws-rds/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/aws-rds/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-rds.endpoint>https://rds.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.aws-rds.endpoint>
         <test.aws-rds.api-version>2012-04-23</test.aws-rds.api-version>
-        <test.aws-rds.build-version></test.aws-rds.build-version>
+        <test.aws-rds.build-version />
         <test.aws-rds.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-rds.identity>
         <test.aws-rds.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-rds.credential>
 
diff --git a/labs/azure-management/pom.xml b/labs/azure-management/pom.xml
index 06e4653..d5a96a8 100644
--- a/labs/azure-management/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/azure-management/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     <!-- note that there's no prefix of "test." in the url.  This is to ensure that jclouds inteprets the value, as opposed to maven -->
     <test.azure-management.endpoint>https://management.core.windows.net/${jclouds.azure.management.subscription-id}</test.azure-management.endpoint>
     <test.azure-management.api-version>2012-03-01</test.azure-management.api-version>
-    <test.azure-management.build-version></test.azure-management.build-version>
+    <test.azure-management.build-version />
     <test.azure-management.identity>/path/to/cert.p12</test.azure-management.identity>
     <test.azure-management.credential>password to cert</test.azure-management.credential>
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.azure.management*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/carrenza-vcloud-director/pom.xml b/labs/carrenza-vcloud-director/pom.xml
index 83551b2..e051671 100644
--- a/labs/carrenza-vcloud-director/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/carrenza-vcloud-director/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -39,13 +39,13 @@
         <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.build-version>464915</test.carrenza-vcloud-director.build-version>
         <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.carrenza-vcloud-director.identity>
         <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.carrenza-vcloud-director.credential>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.template></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.template>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.catalog-id></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.catalog-id>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.media-id></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.media-id>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.vapptemplate-id></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.vapptemplate-id>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.network-name></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.network-name>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.network-id></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.network-id>
-        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.vdc-id></test.carrenza-vcloud-director.vdc-id>
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.template />
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.catalog-id />
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.media-id />
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.vapptemplate-id />
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.network-name />
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.network-id />
+        <test.carrenza-vcloud-director.vdc-id />
 
       <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.carrenza.vcloud.director*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
       <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/labs/cdmi/pom.xml b/labs/cdmi/pom.xml
index f8b5475..13ea276 100644
--- a/labs/cdmi/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/cdmi/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cdmi.endpoint>http://localhost:8080</test.cdmi.endpoint>
     <test.cdmi.api-version>1.0.1</test.cdmi.api-version>
-    <test.cdmi.build-version></test.cdmi.build-version>
+    <test.cdmi.build-version />
     <test.cdmi.identity>tenantId:IDENTITY</test.cdmi.identity>
     <test.cdmi.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.cdmi.credential>
     <jclouds.blobstore.httpstream.url>FIXME_HTTPURL</jclouds.blobstore.httpstream.url>
diff --git a/labs/cloudstack-ec2/pom.xml b/labs/cloudstack-ec2/pom.xml
index 9b8848b..46bb2a4 100644
--- a/labs/cloudstack-ec2/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/cloudstack-ec2/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudstack-ec2.endpoint>http://localhost:8090/bridge/rest/AmazonEC2</test.cloudstack-ec2.endpoint>
     <test.cloudstack-ec2.api-version>2010-11-15</test.cloudstack-ec2.api-version>
-    <test.cloudstack-ec2.build-version></test.cloudstack-ec2.build-version>
+    <test.cloudstack-ec2.build-version />
     <test.cloudstack-ec2.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.cloudstack-ec2.identity>
     <test.cloudstack-ec2.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.cloudstack-ec2.credential>
     <test.cloudstack-ec2.template>imageId=fixme-region/ami-fixme</test.cloudstack-ec2.template>
diff --git a/labs/dmtf/pom.xml b/labs/dmtf/pom.xml
index e62c7da..280e059 100644
--- a/labs/dmtf/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/dmtf/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
diff --git a/labs/dynect/pom.xml b/labs/dynect/pom.xml
index d57ae54..2768139 100644
--- a/labs/dynect/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/dynect/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@
   <properties>
     <test.dynect.endpoint>https://api2.dynect.net/REST</test.dynect.endpoint>
     <test.dynect.api-version>3.3.7</test.dynect.api-version>
-    <test.dynect.build-version></test.dynect.build-version>
-    <test.dynect.identity></test.dynect.identity>
-    <test.dynect.credential></test.dynect.credential>
+    <test.dynect.build-version />
+    <test.dynect.identity />
+    <test.dynect.credential />
 
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.dynect.v3*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/labs/elb/pom.xml b/labs/elb/pom.xml
index 11c5b34..13fd276 100644
--- a/labs/elb/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/elb/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,16 +36,16 @@
     <properties>
         <test.elb.endpoint>https://elasticloadbalancing.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.elb.endpoint>
         <test.elb.api-version>2012-06-01</test.elb.api-version>
-        <test.elb.build-version></test.elb.build-version>
+        <test.elb.build-version />
         <test.elb.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.elb.identity>
         <test.elb.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.elb.credential>
         <test.elb.compute.provider>aws-ec2</test.elb.compute.provider>
-        <test.elb.compute.endpoint></test.elb.compute.endpoint>
-        <test.elb.compute.api-version></test.elb.compute.api-version>
-        <test.elb.compute.build-version></test.elb.compute.build-version>
+        <test.elb.compute.endpoint />
+        <test.elb.compute.api-version />
+        <test.elb.compute.build-version />
         <test.elb.compute.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.elb.compute.identity>
         <test.elb.compute.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.elb.compute.credential>
-        <test.elb.compute.template></test.elb.compute.template>
+        <test.elb.compute.template />
 
       <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.elb*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
       <jclouds.osgi.import>org.jclouds*;version="${project.version}",*</jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/labs/fgcp-au/pom.xml b/labs/fgcp-au/pom.xml
index cb16bac..dc06a35 100644
--- a/labs/fgcp-au/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/fgcp-au/pom.xml
@@ -19,13 +19,12 @@
   under the License.
 
 -->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-  xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <test.fgcp-au.endpoint>https://api.globalcloud.fujitsu.com.au/ovissapi/endpoint</test.fgcp-au.endpoint>
         <test.fgcp-au.apiversion>2011-01-31</test.fgcp-au.apiversion>
-        <test.fgcp-au.build-version></test.fgcp-au.build-version>
+        <test.fgcp-au.build-version />
         <test.fgcp-au.identity>fgcp-id</test.fgcp-au.identity>
         <test.fgcp-au.credential>fgcp-cred</test.fgcp-au.credential>
         <test.fgcp-au.image-id />
diff --git a/labs/fgcp-de/pom.xml b/labs/fgcp-de/pom.xml
index beb2b89..7616fe3 100644
--- a/labs/fgcp-de/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/fgcp-de/pom.xml
@@ -19,13 +19,12 @@
   under the License.
 
 -->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-  xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <test.fgcp-de.endpoint>https://api.globalcloud.de.fujitsu.com/ovissapi/endpoint</test.fgcp-de.endpoint>
         <test.fgcp-de.apiversion>2011-01-31</test.fgcp-de.apiversion>
-        <test.fgcp-de.build-version></test.fgcp-de.build-version>
+        <test.fgcp-de.build-version />
         <test.fgcp-de.identity>fgcp-id</test.fgcp-de.identity>
         <test.fgcp-de.credential>fgcp-cred</test.fgcp-de.credential>
         <test.fgcp-de.image-id />
diff --git a/labs/fgcp/pom.xml b/labs/fgcp/pom.xml
index 580af25..a51fd0c 100644
--- a/labs/fgcp/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/fgcp/pom.xml
@@ -19,13 +19,12 @@
   under the License.
 
 -->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-  xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <test.fgcp-au.endpoint>https://api.globalcloud.fujitsu.com.au/ovissapi/endpoint</test.fgcp-au.endpoint>
         <test.fgcp-au.apiversion>2011-01-31</test.fgcp-au.apiversion>
-        <test.fgcp-au.build-version></test.fgcp-au.build-version>
+        <test.fgcp-au.build-version />
         <test.fgcp-au.identity>fgcp-id</test.fgcp-au.identity>
         <test.fgcp-au.credential>fgcp-cred</test.fgcp-au.credential>
         <test.fgcp-au.image-id>IMG_3c9820_71OW9NZC268</test.fgcp-au.image-id><!-- CentOS 6.2 64bit(EN) in AU -->
diff --git a/labs/google-compute/pom.xml b/labs/google-compute/pom.xml
index a69db9c..cea9a72 100644
--- a/labs/google-compute/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/google-compute/pom.xml
@@ -18,13 +18,12 @@
   ~ specific language governing permissions and limitations
   ~ under the License.
   -->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -33,11 +32,11 @@
     <description>jclouds components to access GoogleCompute</description>
 
     <properties>
-        <jclouds.version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</jclouds.version>
+        <jclouds.version>1.6.0-alpha.1</jclouds.version>
         <test.google-compute.identity>Email associated with the Google API client_id</test.google-compute.identity>
         <test.google-compute.credential>Private key (PKCS12 file) associated with the Google API client_id</test.google-compute.credential>
         <test.google-compute.api-version>v1beta13</test.google-compute.api-version>
-        <test.google-compute.build-version></test.google-compute.build-version>
+        <test.google-compute.build-version />
     </properties>
 
     <dependencies>
diff --git a/labs/greenqloud-compute/pom.xml b/labs/greenqloud-compute/pom.xml
index 768edc4..8403983 100644
--- a/labs/greenqloud-compute/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/greenqloud-compute/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.greenqloud-compute.endpoint>https://api.greenqloud.com</test.greenqloud-compute.endpoint>
         <test.greenqloud-compute.api-version>2010-06-15</test.greenqloud-compute.api-version>
-        <test.greenqloud-compute.build-version></test.greenqloud-compute.build-version>
+        <test.greenqloud-compute.build-version />
         <test.greenqloud-compute.identity>${test.greenqloud.identity}</test.greenqloud-compute.identity>
         <test.greenqloud-compute.credential>${test.greenqloud.credential}</test.greenqloud-compute.credential>
-        <test.greenqloud-compute.template></test.greenqloud-compute.template>
+        <test.greenqloud-compute.template />
         <test.greenqloud-compute.ebs-template>imageId=is-1/qmi-9ac92558</test.greenqloud-compute.ebs-template>
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.greenqloud.compute*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/greenqloud-storage/pom.xml b/labs/greenqloud-storage/pom.xml
index b8adbdb..2c9431f 100644
--- a/labs/greenqloud-storage/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/greenqloud-storage/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.greenqloud-storage.endpoint>https://s.greenqloud.com</test.greenqloud-storage.endpoint>
         <test.greenqloud-storage.api-version>2006-03-01</test.greenqloud-storage.api-version>
-        <test.greenqloud-storage.build-version></test.greenqloud-storage.build-version>
+        <test.greenqloud-storage.build-version />
         <test.greenqloud-storage.identity>${test.greenqloud.identity}</test.greenqloud-storage.identity>
         <test.greenqloud-storage.credential>${test.greenqloud.credential}</test.greenqloud-storage.credential>
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.greenqloud.storage*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/iam/pom.xml b/labs/iam/pom.xml
index 9043033..64e8b7d 100644
--- a/labs/iam/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/iam/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.iam.endpoint>https://iam.amazonaws.com</test.iam.endpoint>
     <test.iam.api-version>2010-05-08</test.iam.api-version>
-    <test.iam.build-version></test.iam.build-version>
+    <test.iam.build-version />
     <test.iam.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.iam.identity>
     <test.iam.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.iam.credential>
 
diff --git a/labs/jenkins/pom.xml b/labs/jenkins/pom.xml
index 9396e77..e8d0b0c 100644
--- a/labs/jenkins/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/jenkins/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
diff --git a/labs/joyent-cloudapi/pom.xml b/labs/joyent-cloudapi/pom.xml
index 1d85695..419fbfa 100644
--- a/labs/joyent-cloudapi/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/joyent-cloudapi/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.joyent-cloudapi.endpoint>https://api.joyentcloud.com</test.joyent-cloudapi.endpoint>
     <test.joyent-cloudapi.api-version>~6.5</test.joyent-cloudapi.api-version>
-    <test.joyent-cloudapi.build-version></test.joyent-cloudapi.build-version>
+    <test.joyent-cloudapi.build-version />
     <test.joyent-cloudapi.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.joyent-cloudapi.identity>
     <test.joyent-cloudapi.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.joyent-cloudapi.credential>
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.joyent.cloudapi.v6_5*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/joyentcloud/pom.xml b/labs/joyentcloud/pom.xml
index 32616c9..c8a79d8 100644
--- a/labs/joyentcloud/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/joyentcloud/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.joyentcloud.endpoint>https://api.joyentcloud.com</test.joyentcloud.endpoint>
     <test.joyentcloud.api-version>~6.5</test.joyentcloud.api-version>
-    <test.joyentcloud.build-version></test.joyentcloud.build-version>
+    <test.joyentcloud.build-version />
     <test.joyentcloud.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.joyentcloud.identity>
     <test.joyentcloud.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.joyentcloud.credential>
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.joyent.joyentcloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/nodepool/pom.xml b/labs/nodepool/pom.xml
index c9a488a..24c6b1f 100644
--- a/labs/nodepool/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/nodepool/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@
     <jclouds.nodepool.backend-provider>byon</jclouds.nodepool.backend-provider>
     <jclouds.nodepool.backend-modules>org.jclouds.logging.slf4j.config.SLF4JLoggingModule,org.jclouds.sshj.config.SshjSshClientModule</jclouds.nodepool.backend-modules>
     <test.nodepool.endpoint>FIXME_ENDPOINT</test.nodepool.endpoint>
-    <test.nodepool.api-version></test.nodepool.api-version>
-    <test.nodepool.build-version></test.nodepool.build-version>
+    <test.nodepool.api-version />
+    <test.nodepool.build-version />
     <test.nodepool.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.nodepool.identity>
     <test.nodepool.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.nodepool.credential>
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.nodepool*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/oauth/pom.xml b/labs/oauth/pom.xml
index 7598503..2340068 100644
--- a/labs/oauth/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/oauth/pom.xml
@@ -19,13 +19,12 @@
   under the License.
 
 -->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@
     <description>jclouds components to access OAuth</description>
 
     <properties>
-        <jclouds.version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</jclouds.version>
+        <jclouds.version>1.6.0-alpha.1</jclouds.version>
         <test.oauth.identity>FIX_ME</test.oauth.identity>
         <test.oauth.credential>FIX_ME</test.oauth.credential>
         <test.oauth.endpoint>FIX_ME</test.oauth.endpoint>
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@
         <test.jclouds.oauth.audience>FIX_ME</test.jclouds.oauth.audience>
         <test.jclouds.oauth.scopes>FIX_ME</test.jclouds.oauth.scopes>
         <test.oauth.api-version>2</test.oauth.api-version>
-        <test.oauth.build-version></test.oauth.build-version>
+        <test.oauth.build-version />
     </properties>
 
     <dependencies>
@@ -108,7 +107,7 @@
                                         <test.oauth.endpoint>${test.oauth.endpoint}</test.oauth.endpoint>
                                         <test.oauth.api-version>${test.oauth.api-version}</test.oauth.api-version>
                                         <test.oauth.build-version>${test.oauth.build-version}</test.oauth.build-version>
-                                        <test.jclouds.oauth.signature-or-mac-algorithm>${test.jclouds.oauth.signature-or-mac-algorithm>}</test.jclouds.oauth.signature-or-mac-algorithm>
+                                        <test.jclouds.oauth.signature-or-mac-algorithm>${test.jclouds.oauth.signature-or-mac-algorithm&gt;}</test.jclouds.oauth.signature-or-mac-algorithm>
                                         <test.jclouds.oauth.audience>${test.jclouds.oauth.audience}</test.jclouds.oauth.audience>
                                         <test.jclouds.oauth.scopes>${test.jclouds.oauth.scopes}</test.jclouds.oauth.scopes>
                                     </systemPropertyVariables>
diff --git a/labs/openstack-glance/pom.xml b/labs/openstack-glance/pom.xml
index 242606d..3d81318 100644
--- a/labs/openstack-glance/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/openstack-glance/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     <test.openstack-glance.endpoint>http://localhost:5000/v2.0/</test.openstack-glance.endpoint>
     <!-- keystone version -->
     <test.openstack-glance.api-version>1.0</test.openstack-glance.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-glance.build-version></test.openstack-glance.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-glance.build-version />
     <test.openstack-glance.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-glance.identity>
     <test.openstack-glance.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.openstack-glance.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/labs/openstack-quantum/pom.xml b/labs/openstack-quantum/pom.xml
index 9c17422..136d469 100644
--- a/labs/openstack-quantum/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/openstack-quantum/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     <test.openstack-quantum.endpoint>http://localhost:5000/v2.0/</test.openstack-quantum.endpoint>
     <!-- keystone version -->
     <test.openstack-quantum.api-version>1.0</test.openstack-quantum.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-quantum.build-version></test.openstack-quantum.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-quantum.build-version />
     <test.openstack-quantum.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-quantum.identity>
     <test.openstack-quantum.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.openstack-quantum.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/labs/openstack-swift/pom.xml b/labs/openstack-swift/pom.xml
index b9019de..3f59e29 100644
--- a/labs/openstack-swift/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/openstack-swift/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     <!-- keystone endpoint -->
     <test.openstack-swift.endpoint>http://localhost:5000/v2.0/</test.openstack-swift.endpoint>
     <test.openstack-swift.api-version>1.0</test.openstack-swift.api-version>
-    <test.openstack-swift.build-version></test.openstack-swift.build-version>
+    <test.openstack-swift.build-version />
     <test.openstack-swift.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openstack-swift.identity>
     <test.openstack-swift.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.openstack-swift.credential>
     <test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>passwordCredentials</test.jclouds.keystone.credential-type>
diff --git a/labs/opsource-servers/pom.xml b/labs/opsource-servers/pom.xml
index dac1ffd..8adbc5e 100644
--- a/labs/opsource-servers/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/opsource-servers/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.opsource-servers.endpoint>https://api.opsourcecloud.net/oec/${jclouds.api-version}</test.opsource-servers.endpoint>
     <test.opsource-servers.api-version>0.9</test.opsource-servers.api-version>
-    <test.opsource-servers.build-version></test.opsource-servers.build-version>
+    <test.opsource-servers.build-version />
     <test.opsource-servers.identity>FIXME_USERNAME</test.opsource-servers.identity>
     <test.opsource-servers.credential>FIXME_PASSWORD</test.opsource-servers.credential>
-    <test.opsource-servers.template></test.opsource-servers.template>
+    <test.opsource-servers.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.vcloud.director.v1_5*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/labs/pom.xml b/labs/pom.xml
index 8f61b1f..e1a8eb0 100644
--- a/labs/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
diff --git a/labs/rds/pom.xml b/labs/rds/pom.xml
index f449bfe..29ca59a 100644
--- a/labs/rds/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/rds/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.rds.endpoint>https://rds.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.rds.endpoint>
         <test.rds.api-version>2012-04-23</test.rds.api-version>
-        <test.rds.build-version></test.rds.build-version>
+        <test.rds.build-version />
         <test.rds.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.rds.identity>
         <test.rds.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.rds.credential>
 
diff --git a/labs/savvis-symphonyvpdc/pom.xml b/labs/savvis-symphonyvpdc/pom.xml
index 60abab2..374b7fc 100644
--- a/labs/savvis-symphonyvpdc/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/savvis-symphonyvpdc/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
         <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.build-version>2.3</test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.build-version>
         <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.identity>FIXME</test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.identity>
         <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.credential>FIXME</test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.credential>
-        <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.template></test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.template>
+        <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.template />
         <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.vdc-email>FIXME</test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.vdc-email>
         <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.loginUser>FIXME</test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.loginUser>
         <test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.loginPassword>FIXME</test.savvis-symphonyvpdc.loginPassword>
diff --git a/labs/smartos-ssh/pom.xml b/labs/smartos-ssh/pom.xml
index b59a2e6..3e3f3f2 100644
--- a/labs/smartos-ssh/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/smartos-ssh/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.smartos-ssh.endpoint>https://api.joyentcloud.com</test.smartos-ssh.endpoint>
         <test.smartos-ssh.api-version>~6.5</test.smartos-ssh.api-version>
-        <test.smartos-ssh.build-version></test.smartos-ssh.build-version>
+        <test.smartos-ssh.build-version />
         <test.smartos-ssh.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.smartos-ssh.identity>
         <test.smartos-ssh.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIALS</test.smartos-ssh.credential>
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.joyent.cloudapi.v6_5*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
diff --git a/labs/ultradns-ws/pom.xml b/labs/ultradns-ws/pom.xml
index 163b0c0..c412c66 100644
--- a/labs/ultradns-ws/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/ultradns-ws/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@
   <properties>
     <test.ultradns-ws.endpoint>https://ultra-api.ultradns.com:8443/UltraDNS_WS/v01</test.ultradns-ws.endpoint>
     <test.ultradns-ws.api-version>v01</test.ultradns-ws.api-version>
-    <test.ultradns-ws.build-version></test.ultradns-ws.build-version>
-    <test.ultradns-ws.identity></test.ultradns-ws.identity>
-    <test.ultradns-ws.credential></test.ultradns-ws.credential>
+    <test.ultradns-ws.build-version />
+    <test.ultradns-ws.identity />
+    <test.ultradns-ws.credential />
 
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.ultradns.ws*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>org.jclouds*;version="${project.version}",*</jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/labs/vcloud-director/pom.xml b/labs/vcloud-director/pom.xml
index e9bc276..ab45bb9 100644
--- a/labs/vcloud-director/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/vcloud-director/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
@@ -39,19 +39,19 @@
     <test.vcloud-director.build-version>1.5.0.464915</test.vcloud-director.build-version>
     <test.vcloud-director.identity>FIXME_USERNAME_WHICH_MIGHT_BE_EMAIL@JClouds</test.vcloud-director.identity>
     <test.vcloud-director.credential>FIXME_PASSWORD</test.vcloud-director.credential>
-    <test.vcloud-director.template></test.vcloud-director.template>
+    <test.vcloud-director.template />
     <!-- URN format: ex. urn:vcloud:catalog:7212e451-76e1-4631-b2de-ba1dfd8080e4 -->
-    <test.vcloud-director.catalog-id></test.vcloud-director.catalog-id>
+    <test.vcloud-director.catalog-id />
     <!-- URN format: ex. urn:vcloud:media:7212e451-76e1-4631-b2de-ba1dfd8080e4 -->
-    <test.vcloud-director.media-id></test.vcloud-director.media-id>
+    <test.vcloud-director.media-id />
     <!-- URN format: ex. urn:vcloud:vapptemplate:7212e451-76e1-4631-b2de-ba1dfd8080e4 -->
-    <test.vcloud-director.vapptemplate-id></test.vcloud-director.vapptemplate-id>
+    <test.vcloud-director.vapptemplate-id />
     <!-- URN format: ex. urn:vcloud:network:7212e451-76e1-4631-b2de-ba1dfd8080e4 -->
-    <test.vcloud-director.network-id></test.vcloud-director.network-id>
+    <test.vcloud-director.network-id />
     <!-- URN format: ex. urn:vcloud:vdc:7212e451-76e1-4631-b2de-ba1dfd8080e4 -->
-    <test.vcloud-director.vdc-id></test.vcloud-director.vdc-id>
+    <test.vcloud-director.vdc-id />
     <!-- URN format: ex. urn:vcloud:user:7212e451-76e1-4631-b2de-ba1dfd8080e4 -->
-    <test.vcloud-director.user-id></test.vcloud-director.user-id>
+    <test.vcloud-director.user-id />
 
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.vcloud.director.v1_5*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/labs/virtualbox/pom.xml b/labs/virtualbox/pom.xml
index 391c160..78688a0 100644
--- a/labs/virtualbox/pom.xml
+++ b/labs/virtualbox/pom.xml
@@ -19,13 +19,12 @@
   under the License.
 
 -->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-  xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.labs</groupId>
diff --git a/loadbalancer/pom.xml b/loadbalancer/pom.xml
index 07c4b79..2269e14 100644
--- a/loadbalancer/pom.xml
+++ b/loadbalancer/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-loadbalancer</artifactId>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 5917134..eb5a097 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>        
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-multi</artifactId>
diff --git a/project/pom.xml b/project/pom.xml
index f1bab7a..dbb6792 100644
--- a/project/pom.xml
+++ b/project/pom.xml
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
     <name>jclouds Project</name>
     <url>http://www.jclouds.org</url>
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@
         <connection>scm:git:git://github.com/jclouds/jclouds.git</connection>
         <developerConnection>scm:git:ssh://git@github.com/jclouds/jclouds.git</developerConnection>
         <url>http://github.com/jclouds/jclouds</url>
-    </scm>
+      <tag>jclouds-1.6.0-alpha.1</tag>
+  </scm>
 
     <repositories>
         <repository>
diff --git a/providers/aws-cloudwatch/pom.xml b/providers/aws-cloudwatch/pom.xml
index a566730..730d1a0 100644
--- a/providers/aws-cloudwatch/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/aws-cloudwatch/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-cloudwatch.endpoint>https://monitoring.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.aws-cloudwatch.endpoint>
         <test.aws-cloudwatch.api-version>2010-08-01</test.aws-cloudwatch.api-version>
-        <test.aws-cloudwatch.build-version></test.aws-cloudwatch.build-version>
+        <test.aws-cloudwatch.build-version />
         <test.aws-cloudwatch.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-cloudwatch.identity>
         <test.aws-cloudwatch.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-cloudwatch.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/aws-ec2/pom.xml b/providers/aws-ec2/pom.xml
index 0091f14..e4378b8 100644
--- a/providers/aws-ec2/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/aws-ec2/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.aws-ec2.endpoint>https://ec2.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.aws-ec2.endpoint>
     <test.aws-ec2.api-version>2011-05-15</test.aws-ec2.api-version>
-    <test.aws-ec2.build-version></test.aws-ec2.build-version>
+    <test.aws-ec2.build-version />
     <test.aws-ec2.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-ec2.identity>
     <test.aws-ec2.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-ec2.credential>
-    <test.aws-ec2.template></test.aws-ec2.template>
+    <test.aws-ec2.template />
     <!-- https://aws.amazon.com/amazon-linux-ami/ EBS-Backed 32-bit Oregon -->
     <test.aws-ec2.ebs-template>hardwareId=m1.small,imageId=us-west-2/ami-2231bf12</test.aws-ec2.ebs-template>
     <!-- Windows_Server-2008-R2 with WinRM enabled (setup instructions at http://www.frontiertown.co.uk/2011/12/overthere-control-windows-from-java/) -->
diff --git a/providers/aws-route53/pom.xml b/providers/aws-route53/pom.xml
index 1aa3b1f..6ca35a9 100644
--- a/providers/aws-route53/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/aws-route53/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-route53.endpoint>https://route53.amazonaws.com</test.aws-route53.endpoint>
         <test.aws-route53.api-version>2012-02-29</test.aws-route53.api-version>
-        <test.aws-route53.build-version></test.aws-route53.build-version>
+        <test.aws-route53.build-version />
         <test.aws-route53.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-route53.identity>
         <test.aws-route53.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-route53.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/aws-s3/pom.xml b/providers/aws-s3/pom.xml
index cfa0af9..34da2f5 100644
--- a/providers/aws-s3/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/aws-s3/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
         <test.initializer>org.jclouds.aws.s3.blobstore.integration.AWSS3TestInitializer</test.initializer>
         <test.aws-s3.endpoint>https://s3.amazonaws.com</test.aws-s3.endpoint>
         <test.aws-s3.api-version>2006-03-01</test.aws-s3.api-version>
-        <test.aws-s3.build-version></test.aws-s3.build-version>
+        <test.aws-s3.build-version />
         <test.aws-s3.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-s3.identity>
         <test.aws-s3.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-s3.credential>
         <test.blobstore.container-count>25</test.blobstore.container-count>
diff --git a/providers/aws-sqs/pom.xml b/providers/aws-sqs/pom.xml
index ae7c850..901b904 100644
--- a/providers/aws-sqs/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/aws-sqs/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-sqs.endpoint>https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com</test.aws-sqs.endpoint>
         <test.aws-sqs.api-version>2011-10-01</test.aws-sqs.api-version>
-        <test.aws-sqs.build-version></test.aws-sqs.build-version>
+        <test.aws-sqs.build-version />
         <test.aws-sqs.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-sqs.identity>
         <test.aws-sqs.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-sqs.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/aws-sts/pom.xml b/providers/aws-sts/pom.xml
index ca870e6..413ae8b 100644
--- a/providers/aws-sts/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/aws-sts/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.aws-sts.endpoint>https://sts.amazonaws.com</test.aws-sts.endpoint>
         <test.aws-sts.api-version>2011-06-15</test.aws-sts.api-version>
-        <test.aws-sts.build-version></test.aws-sts.build-version>
+        <test.aws-sts.build-version />
         <test.aws-sts.identity>${test.aws.identity}</test.aws-sts.identity>
         <test.aws-sts.credential>${test.aws.credential}</test.aws-sts.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/azureblob/pom.xml b/providers/azureblob/pom.xml
index 7bfeb26..220726a 100644
--- a/providers/azureblob/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/azureblob/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.azureblob.endpoint>https://${jclouds.identity}.blob.core.windows.net</test.azureblob.endpoint>
         <test.azureblob.api-version>2009-09-19</test.azureblob.api-version>
-        <test.azureblob.build-version></test.azureblob.build-version>
+        <test.azureblob.build-version />
         <test.azureblob.identity>${test.azure.identity}</test.azureblob.identity>
         <test.azureblob.credential>${test.azure.credential}</test.azureblob.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/bluelock-vcloud-zone01/pom.xml b/providers/bluelock-vcloud-zone01/pom.xml
index bfb8a28..78ca2ea 100644
--- a/providers/bluelock-vcloud-zone01/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/bluelock-vcloud-zone01/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
     <test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.build-version>1.5.0.464915</test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.build-version>
     <test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.identity>
     <test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.credential>
-    <test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.template></test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.template>
+    <test.bluelock-vcloud-zone01.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.bluelock.vcloud.zone01*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/cloudfiles-uk/pom.xml b/providers/cloudfiles-uk/pom.xml
index f7db1fa..2626947 100644
--- a/providers/cloudfiles-uk/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudfiles-uk/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
         <test.blobstore.container-count>15</test.blobstore.container-count>
         <test.cloudfiles-uk.endpoint>https://lon.auth.api.rackspacecloud.com</test.cloudfiles-uk.endpoint>
         <test.cloudfiles-uk.api-version>1.0</test.cloudfiles-uk.api-version>
-        <test.cloudfiles-uk.build-version></test.cloudfiles-uk.build-version>
+        <test.cloudfiles-uk.build-version />
         <test.cloudfiles-uk.identity>${test.rackspace-uk.identity}</test.cloudfiles-uk.identity>
         <test.cloudfiles-uk.credential>${test.rackspace-uk.credential}</test.cloudfiles-uk.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/cloudfiles-us/pom.xml b/providers/cloudfiles-us/pom.xml
index 4c99da4..1bb0ae7 100644
--- a/providers/cloudfiles-us/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudfiles-us/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
         <test.blobstore.container-count>15</test.blobstore.container-count>
         <test.cloudfiles-us.endpoint>https://auth.api.rackspacecloud.com</test.cloudfiles-us.endpoint>
         <test.cloudfiles-us.api-version>1.0</test.cloudfiles-us.api-version>
-        <test.cloudfiles-us.build-version></test.cloudfiles-us.build-version>
+        <test.cloudfiles-us.build-version />
         <test.cloudfiles-us.identity>${test.rackspace-us.identity}</test.cloudfiles-us.identity>
         <test.cloudfiles-us.credential>${test.rackspace-us.credential}</test.cloudfiles-us.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/cloudonestorage/pom.xml b/providers/cloudonestorage/pom.xml
index b13e7ef..7965ce4 100644
--- a/providers/cloudonestorage/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudonestorage/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.cloudonestorage.endpoint>https://cloudonestorage.peer1.com</test.cloudonestorage.endpoint>
         <test.cloudonestorage.api-version>1.3.0</test.cloudonestorage.api-version>
-        <test.cloudonestorage.build-version></test.cloudonestorage.build-version>
+        <test.cloudonestorage.build-version />
         <test.cloudonestorage.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.cloudonestorage.identity>
         <test.cloudonestorage.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.cloudonestorage.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/cloudservers-uk/pom.xml b/providers/cloudservers-uk/pom.xml
index eca8d0c..789d92d 100644
--- a/providers/cloudservers-uk/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudservers-uk/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudservers-uk.endpoint>https://lon.auth.api.rackspacecloud.com</test.cloudservers-uk.endpoint>
     <test.cloudservers-uk.api-version>1.0</test.cloudservers-uk.api-version>
-    <test.cloudservers-uk.build-version></test.cloudservers-uk.build-version>
+    <test.cloudservers-uk.build-version />
     <test.cloudservers-uk.identity>${test.rackspace-uk.identity}</test.cloudservers-uk.identity>
     <test.cloudservers-uk.credential>${test.rackspace-uk.credential}</test.cloudservers-uk.credential>
-    <test.cloudservers-uk.template></test.cloudservers-uk.template>
+    <test.cloudservers-uk.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.rackspace.cloudservers*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/cloudservers-us/pom.xml b/providers/cloudservers-us/pom.xml
index 7db77c5..974eedd 100644
--- a/providers/cloudservers-us/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudservers-us/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudservers-us.endpoint>https://auth.api.rackspacecloud.com</test.cloudservers-us.endpoint>
     <test.cloudservers-us.api-version>1.0</test.cloudservers-us.api-version>
-    <test.cloudservers-us.build-version></test.cloudservers-us.build-version>
+    <test.cloudservers-us.build-version />
     <test.cloudservers-us.identity>${test.rackspace-us.identity}</test.cloudservers-us.identity>
     <test.cloudservers-us.credential>${test.rackspace-us.credential}</test.cloudservers-us.credential>
-    <test.cloudservers-us.template></test.cloudservers-us.template>
+    <test.cloudservers-us.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.rackspace.cloudservers*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/cloudsigma-lvs/pom.xml b/providers/cloudsigma-lvs/pom.xml
index 77e0af9..68b4b0b 100644
--- a/providers/cloudsigma-lvs/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudsigma-lvs/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudsigma-lvs.endpoint>https://api.lvs.cloudsigma.com</test.cloudsigma-lvs.endpoint>
     <test.cloudsigma-lvs.api-version>1.0</test.cloudsigma-lvs.api-version>
-    <test.cloudsigma-lvs.build-version></test.cloudsigma-lvs.build-version>
+    <test.cloudsigma-lvs.build-version />
     <test.cloudsigma-lvs.identity>FIXME</test.cloudsigma-lvs.identity>
     <test.cloudsigma-lvs.credential>FIXME</test.cloudsigma-lvs.credential>
-    <test.cloudsigma-lvs.template></test.cloudsigma-lvs.template>
+    <test.cloudsigma-lvs.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.cloudsigma*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/cloudsigma-zrh/pom.xml b/providers/cloudsigma-zrh/pom.xml
index 7c7a5c7..f8ff5cc 100644
--- a/providers/cloudsigma-zrh/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/cloudsigma-zrh/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.cloudsigma-zrh.endpoint>https://api.zrh.cloudsigma.com</test.cloudsigma-zrh.endpoint>
     <test.cloudsigma-zrh.api-version>1.0</test.cloudsigma-zrh.api-version>
-    <test.cloudsigma-zrh.build-version></test.cloudsigma-zrh.build-version>
+    <test.cloudsigma-zrh.build-version />
     <test.cloudsigma-zrh.identity>FIXME</test.cloudsigma-zrh.identity>
     <test.cloudsigma-zrh.credential>FIXME</test.cloudsigma-zrh.credential>
-    <test.cloudsigma-zrh.template></test.cloudsigma-zrh.template>
+    <test.cloudsigma-zrh.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.cloudsigma*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/elastichosts-lax-p/pom.xml b/providers/elastichosts-lax-p/pom.xml
index 05f3fbb..97e86e9 100644
--- a/providers/elastichosts-lax-p/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/elastichosts-lax-p/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.elastichosts-lax-p.endpoint>https://api-lax-p.elastichosts.com</test.elastichosts-lax-p.endpoint>
         <test.elastichosts-lax-p.api-version>2.0</test.elastichosts-lax-p.api-version>
-        <test.elastichosts-lax-p.build-version></test.elastichosts-lax-p.build-version>
+        <test.elastichosts-lax-p.build-version />
         <test.elastichosts-lax-p.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.elastichosts-lax-p.identity>
         <test.elastichosts-lax-p.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.elastichosts-lax-p.credential>
-        <test.elastichosts-lax-p.template></test.elastichosts-lax-p.template>
+        <test.elastichosts-lax-p.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.elastichosts*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/elastichosts-lon-b/pom.xml b/providers/elastichosts-lon-b/pom.xml
index ac1770a..8622ee1 100644
--- a/providers/elastichosts-lon-b/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/elastichosts-lon-b/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.elastichosts-lon-b.endpoint>https://api-lon-b.elastichosts.com</test.elastichosts-lon-b.endpoint>
         <test.elastichosts-lon-b.api-version>2.0</test.elastichosts-lon-b.api-version>
-        <test.elastichosts-lon-b.build-version></test.elastichosts-lon-b.build-version>
+        <test.elastichosts-lon-b.build-version />
         <test.elastichosts-lon-b.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.elastichosts-lon-b.identity>
         <test.elastichosts-lon-b.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.elastichosts-lon-b.credential>
-        <test.elastichosts-lon-b.template></test.elastichosts-lon-b.template>
+        <test.elastichosts-lon-b.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.elastichosts*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/elastichosts-lon-p/pom.xml b/providers/elastichosts-lon-p/pom.xml
index aa0053c..c772d12 100644
--- a/providers/elastichosts-lon-p/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/elastichosts-lon-p/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.elastichosts-lon-p.endpoint>https://api-lon-p.elastichosts.com</test.elastichosts-lon-p.endpoint>
         <test.elastichosts-lon-p.api-version>2.0</test.elastichosts-lon-p.api-version>
-        <test.elastichosts-lon-p.build-version></test.elastichosts-lon-p.build-version>
+        <test.elastichosts-lon-p.build-version />
         <test.elastichosts-lon-p.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.elastichosts-lon-p.identity>
         <test.elastichosts-lon-p.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.elastichosts-lon-p.credential>
-        <test.elastichosts-lon-p.template></test.elastichosts-lon-p.template>
+        <test.elastichosts-lon-p.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.elastichosts*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/elastichosts-sat-p/pom.xml b/providers/elastichosts-sat-p/pom.xml
index 8a36f09..d510167 100644
--- a/providers/elastichosts-sat-p/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/elastichosts-sat-p/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.elastichosts-sat-p.endpoint>https://api-sat-p.elastichosts.com</test.elastichosts-sat-p.endpoint>
         <test.elastichosts-sat-p.api-version>2.0</test.elastichosts-sat-p.api-version>
-        <test.elastichosts-sat-p.build-version></test.elastichosts-sat-p.build-version>
+        <test.elastichosts-sat-p.build-version />
         <test.elastichosts-sat-p.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.elastichosts-sat-p.identity>
         <test.elastichosts-sat-p.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.elastichosts-sat-p.credential>
-        <test.elastichosts-sat-p.template></test.elastichosts-sat-p.template>
+        <test.elastichosts-sat-p.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.elastichosts*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/elastichosts-tor-p/pom.xml b/providers/elastichosts-tor-p/pom.xml
index 2a58cfe..7900de9 100644
--- a/providers/elastichosts-tor-p/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/elastichosts-tor-p/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.elastichosts-tor-p.endpoint>https://api-tor-p.elastichosts.com</test.elastichosts-tor-p.endpoint>
         <test.elastichosts-tor-p.api-version>2.0</test.elastichosts-tor-p.api-version>
-        <test.elastichosts-tor-p.build-version></test.elastichosts-tor-p.build-version>
+        <test.elastichosts-tor-p.build-version />
         <test.elastichosts-tor-p.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.elastichosts-tor-p.identity>
         <test.elastichosts-tor-p.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.elastichosts-tor-p.credential>
-        <test.elastichosts-tor-p.template></test.elastichosts-tor-p.template>
+        <test.elastichosts-tor-p.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.elastichosts*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/glesys/pom.xml b/providers/glesys/pom.xml
index eb722df..23d8977 100644
--- a/providers/glesys/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/glesys/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
diff --git a/providers/go2cloud-jhb1/pom.xml b/providers/go2cloud-jhb1/pom.xml
index 45be6d4..26e84b1 100644
--- a/providers/go2cloud-jhb1/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/go2cloud-jhb1/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.go2cloud-jhb1.endpoint>http://api.jhb1.go2cloud.co.za</test.go2cloud-jhb1.endpoint>
         <test.go2cloud-jhb1.api-version>2.0</test.go2cloud-jhb1.api-version>
-        <test.go2cloud-jhb1.build-version></test.go2cloud-jhb1.build-version>
+        <test.go2cloud-jhb1.build-version />
         <test.go2cloud-jhb1.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.go2cloud-jhb1.identity>
         <test.go2cloud-jhb1.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.go2cloud-jhb1.credential>
-        <test.go2cloud-jhb1.template></test.go2cloud-jhb1.template>
+        <test.go2cloud-jhb1.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.go2cloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/gogrid/pom.xml b/providers/gogrid/pom.xml
index 86d629a..8f18a5b 100644
--- a/providers/gogrid/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/gogrid/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.gogrid.endpoint>https://api.gogrid.com/api</test.gogrid.endpoint>
         <test.gogrid.api-version>1.5</test.gogrid.api-version>
-        <test.gogrid.build-version></test.gogrid.build-version>
+        <test.gogrid.build-version />
         <test.gogrid.identity>FIXME</test.gogrid.identity>
         <test.gogrid.credential>FIXME</test.gogrid.credential>
-        <test.gogrid.template></test.gogrid.template>
+        <test.gogrid.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.gogrid*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/greenhousedata-element-vcloud/pom.xml b/providers/greenhousedata-element-vcloud/pom.xml
index 3db017e..9b031d9 100644
--- a/providers/greenhousedata-element-vcloud/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/greenhousedata-element-vcloud/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
         <test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.build-version>1.5.0.464915</test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.build-version>
         <test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.identity>
         <test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.credential>
-        <test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.template></test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.template>
+        <test.greenhousedata-element-vcloud.template />
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.greenhousedata.element.vcloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
           org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/hpcloud-compute/pom.xml b/providers/hpcloud-compute/pom.xml
index 3a9747c..7a25e52 100644
--- a/providers/hpcloud-compute/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/hpcloud-compute/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
   <properties>
     <test.hpcloud-compute.endpoint>https://region-a.geo-1.identity.hpcloudsvc.com:35357/v2.0/</test.hpcloud-compute.endpoint>
     <test.hpcloud-compute.api-version>1.1</test.hpcloud-compute.api-version>
-    <test.hpcloud-compute.build-version></test.hpcloud-compute.build-version>
+    <test.hpcloud-compute.build-version />
     <!--
         Identity must be tenantName:userName.  Note that the following
         credentials are the HP Cloud username and password, not the access
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
     -->
     <test.hpcloud-compute.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.hpcloud-compute.identity>
     <test.hpcloud-compute.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.hpcloud-compute.credential>
-    <test.hpcloud-compute.template></test.hpcloud-compute.template>
+    <test.hpcloud-compute.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.hpcloud.compute*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/hpcloud-objectstorage/pom.xml b/providers/hpcloud-objectstorage/pom.xml
index b67445a..12f4951 100644
--- a/providers/hpcloud-objectstorage/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/hpcloud-objectstorage/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.hpcloud-objectstorage.endpoint>https://region-a.geo-1.identity.hpcloudsvc.com:35357/v2.0/</test.hpcloud-objectstorage.endpoint>
         <test.hpcloud-objectstorage.api-version>1.0</test.hpcloud-objectstorage.api-version>
-        <test.hpcloud-objectstorage.build-version></test.hpcloud-objectstorage.build-version>
+        <test.hpcloud-objectstorage.build-version />
         <!--
             Identity must be tenantName:userName.  Note that the following
             credentials are the HP Cloud username and password, not the access
diff --git a/providers/ninefold-compute/pom.xml b/providers/ninefold-compute/pom.xml
index b9299f2..3bff1bd 100644
--- a/providers/ninefold-compute/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/ninefold-compute/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.ninefold-compute.endpoint>https://api.ninefold.com/compute/v1.0/</test.ninefold-compute.endpoint>
     <test.ninefold-compute.api-version>2.2.12</test.ninefold-compute.api-version>
-    <test.ninefold-compute.build-version></test.ninefold-compute.build-version>
+    <test.ninefold-compute.build-version />
     <test.ninefold-compute.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.ninefold-compute.identity>
     <test.ninefold-compute.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.ninefold-compute.credential>
-    <test.ninefold-compute.template></test.ninefold-compute.template>
+    <test.ninefold-compute.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.ninefold.compute*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/ninefold-storage/pom.xml b/providers/ninefold-storage/pom.xml
index cbd009f..8b54fe7 100644
--- a/providers/ninefold-storage/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/ninefold-storage/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.ninefold-storage.endpoint>http://onlinestorage.ninefold.com</test.ninefold-storage.endpoint>
         <test.ninefold-storage.api-version>1.4.0</test.ninefold-storage.api-version>
-        <test.ninefold-storage.build-version></test.ninefold-storage.build-version>
+        <test.ninefold-storage.build-version />
         <test.ninefold-storage.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.ninefold-storage.identity>
         <test.ninefold-storage.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.ninefold-storage.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/openhosting-east1/pom.xml b/providers/openhosting-east1/pom.xml
index 0248751..cf3ac07 100644
--- a/providers/openhosting-east1/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/openhosting-east1/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.openhosting-east1.endpoint>https://api.east1.openhosting.com</test.openhosting-east1.endpoint>
         <test.openhosting-east1.api-version>2.0</test.openhosting-east1.api-version>
-        <test.openhosting-east1.build-version></test.openhosting-east1.build-version>
+        <test.openhosting-east1.build-version />
         <test.openhosting-east1.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.openhosting-east1.identity>
         <test.openhosting-east1.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.openhosting-east1.credential>
-        <test.openhosting-east1.template></test.openhosting-east1.template>
+        <test.openhosting-east1.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.openhosting*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/pom.xml b/providers/pom.xml
index 5bdd623..e3f5e40 100644
--- a/providers/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
diff --git a/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk/pom.xml b/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk/pom.xml
index 6120159..5334c85 100644
--- a/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.endpoint>https://lon.identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.endpoint>
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.api-version>1</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.api-version>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.build-version>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.build-version />
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.identity>${test.rackspace-uk.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.identity>
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.credential>${test.rackspace-uk.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.credential>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.template></test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.template>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-uk.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.rackspace.cloudblockstorage.uk*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us/pom.xml b/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us/pom.xml
index 07e0d7f..5d020bf 100644
--- a/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.endpoint>https://identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.endpoint>
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.api-version>1</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.api-version>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.build-version>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.build-version />
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.identity>${test.rackspace-us.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.identity>
     <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.credential>${test.rackspace-us.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.credential>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.template></test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.template>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudblockstorage-us.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.rackspace.cloudblockstorage.us*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk/pom.xml b/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk/pom.xml
index 662724e..e6c2af7 100644
--- a/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.endpoint>https://lon.identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.endpoint>
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.api-version>1</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.api-version>
-        <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.build-version>
+        <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.build-version />
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.identity>${test.rackspace-uk.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.identity>
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.credential>${test.rackspace-uk.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-uk.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us/pom.xml b/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us/pom.xml
index 26ec287..25de441 100644
--- a/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.endpoint>https://identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.endpoint>
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.api-version>1</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.api-version>
-        <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.build-version>
+        <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.build-version />
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.identity>${test.rackspace-us.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.identity>
         <test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.credential>${test.rackspace-us.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudloadbalancers-us.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-uk/pom.xml b/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-uk/pom.xml
index d8a575c..f63b4d1 100644
--- a/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-uk/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-uk/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.endpoint>https://lon.identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.endpoint>
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.api-version>2</test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.api-version>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.build-version>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.build-version />
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.identity>${test.rackspace-uk.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.identity>
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.credential>${test.rackspace-uk.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.credential>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.template></test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.template>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-uk.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.rackspace.cloudservers.us*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-us/pom.xml b/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-us/pom.xml
index 298fae1..e769c9a 100644
--- a/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-us/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/rackspace-cloudservers-us/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.endpoint>https://identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/</test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.endpoint>
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.api-version>2</test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.api-version>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.build-version></test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.build-version>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.build-version />
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.identity>${test.rackspace-us.identity}</test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.identity>
     <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.credential>${test.rackspace-us.credential}</test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.credential>
-    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.template></test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.template>
+    <test.rackspace-cloudservers-us.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.rackspace.cloudservers.us*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/serverlove-z1-man/pom.xml b/providers/serverlove-z1-man/pom.xml
index 2ba3bfc..7131f6e 100644
--- a/providers/serverlove-z1-man/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/serverlove-z1-man/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.serverlove-z1-man.endpoint>https://api.z1-man.serverlove.com</test.serverlove-z1-man.endpoint>
         <test.serverlove-z1-man.api-version>1.0</test.serverlove-z1-man.api-version>
-        <test.serverlove-z1-man.build-version></test.serverlove-z1-man.build-version>
+        <test.serverlove-z1-man.build-version />
         <test.serverlove-z1-man.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.serverlove-z1-man.identity>
         <test.serverlove-z1-man.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.serverlove-z1-man.credential>
-        <test.serverlove-z1-man.template></test.serverlove-z1-man.template>
+        <test.serverlove-z1-man.template />
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.serverlove*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
           org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/skalicloud-sdg-my/pom.xml b/providers/skalicloud-sdg-my/pom.xml
index 23e51e6..b3121e3 100644
--- a/providers/skalicloud-sdg-my/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/skalicloud-sdg-my/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.endpoint>https://api.sdg-my.skalicloud.com</test.skalicloud-sdg-my.endpoint>
         <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.api-version>1.0</test.skalicloud-sdg-my.api-version>
-        <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.build-version></test.skalicloud-sdg-my.build-version>
+        <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.build-version />
         <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.skalicloud-sdg-my.identity>
         <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.skalicloud-sdg-my.credential>
-        <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.template></test.skalicloud-sdg-my.template>
+        <test.skalicloud-sdg-my.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.skalicloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/softlayer/pom.xml b/providers/softlayer/pom.xml
index 3e061da..362a81d 100644
--- a/providers/softlayer/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/softlayer/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -50,10 +50,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.softlayer.endpoint>https://api.softlayer.com/rest</test.softlayer.endpoint>
     <test.softlayer.api-version>3</test.softlayer.api-version>
-    <test.softlayer.build-version></test.softlayer.build-version>
+    <test.softlayer.build-version />
     <test.softlayer.identity>FIXME</test.softlayer.identity>
     <test.softlayer.credential>FIXME</test.softlayer.credential>
-    <test.softlayer.template></test.softlayer.template>
+    <test.softlayer.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.softlayer*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/stratogen-vcloud-mycloud/pom.xml b/providers/stratogen-vcloud-mycloud/pom.xml
index 3ab7f84..110c116 100644
--- a/providers/stratogen-vcloud-mycloud/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/stratogen-vcloud-mycloud/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
         <test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.build-version>1.5.0.464915</test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.build-version>
         <test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.identity>
         <test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.credential>
-        <test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.template></test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.template>
+        <test.stratogen-vcloud-mycloud.template />
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.stratogen.vcloud.mycloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
           org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/providers/synaptic-storage/pom.xml b/providers/synaptic-storage/pom.xml
index 0feb952..d4e28fe 100644
--- a/providers/synaptic-storage/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/synaptic-storage/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <properties>
         <test.synaptic-storage.endpoint>https://storage.synaptic.att.com</test.synaptic-storage.endpoint>
         <test.synaptic-storage.api-version>1.3.0</test.synaptic-storage.api-version>
-        <test.synaptic-storage.build-version></test.synaptic-storage.build-version>
+        <test.synaptic-storage.build-version />
         <test.synaptic-storage.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.synaptic-storage.identity>
         <test.synaptic-storage.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.synaptic-storage.credential>
 
diff --git a/providers/trmk-ecloud/pom.xml b/providers/trmk-ecloud/pom.xml
index a2e7ad5..6c61069 100644
--- a/providers/trmk-ecloud/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/trmk-ecloud/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@
         <test.trmk-ecloud.endpoint>https://services.enterprisecloud.terremark.com/api</test.trmk-ecloud.endpoint>
         <test.trmk-ecloud.datacenter>MIA</test.trmk-ecloud.datacenter>
         <test.trmk-ecloud.api-version>0.8b-ext2.8</test.trmk-ecloud.api-version>
-        <test.trmk-ecloud.build-version></test.trmk-ecloud.build-version>
+        <test.trmk-ecloud.build-version />
         <test.trmk-ecloud.identity>FIXME</test.trmk-ecloud.identity>
         <test.trmk-ecloud.credential>FIXME</test.trmk-ecloud.credential>
-        <test.trmk-ecloud.template></test.trmk-ecloud.template>
+        <test.trmk-ecloud.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.trmk.ecloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/trmk-vcloudexpress/pom.xml b/providers/trmk-vcloudexpress/pom.xml
index 8dfe347..1db9c56 100644
--- a/providers/trmk-vcloudexpress/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/trmk-vcloudexpress/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
     <properties>
         <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.endpoint>https://services.vcloudexpress.terremark.com/api</test.trmk-vcloudexpress.endpoint>
         <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.api-version>0.8a-ext1.6</test.trmk-vcloudexpress.api-version>
-        <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.build-version></test.trmk-vcloudexpress.build-version>
+        <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.build-version />
         <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.identity>FIXME</test.trmk-vcloudexpress.identity>
         <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.credential>FIXME</test.trmk-vcloudexpress.credential>
-        <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.template></test.trmk-vcloudexpress.template>
+        <test.trmk-vcloudexpress.template />
 
         <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.trmk.ecloud*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
         <jclouds.osgi.import>
diff --git a/providers/trystack-nova/pom.xml b/providers/trystack-nova/pom.xml
index f39d6ba..e5cd5a1 100644
--- a/providers/trystack-nova/pom.xml
+++ b/providers/trystack-nova/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
     <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-    <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
     <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <groupId>org.jclouds.provider</groupId>
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@
   <properties>
     <test.trystack-nova.endpoint>https://nova-api.trystack.org:5443/v2.0/</test.trystack-nova.endpoint>
     <test.trystack-nova.api-version>1.1</test.trystack-nova.api-version>
-    <test.trystack-nova.build-version></test.trystack-nova.build-version>
+    <test.trystack-nova.build-version />
     <test.trystack-nova.identity>FIXME_IDENTITY</test.trystack-nova.identity>
     <test.trystack-nova.credential>FIXME_CREDENTIAL</test.trystack-nova.credential>
-    <test.trystack-nova.template></test.trystack-nova.template>
+    <test.trystack-nova.template />
     <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.trystack.nova*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>
     <jclouds.osgi.import>
       org.jclouds.compute.internal;version="${project.version}",
diff --git a/resources/pom.xml b/resources/pom.xml
index 0a54433..be6d2d7 100644
--- a/resources/pom.xml
+++ b/resources/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>    
     <artifactId>jclouds-resources</artifactId>
diff --git a/scriptbuilder/pom.xml b/scriptbuilder/pom.xml
index 3359804..fdbdae8 100644
--- a/scriptbuilder/pom.xml
+++ b/scriptbuilder/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <artifactId>jclouds-scriptbuilder</artifactId>
diff --git a/skeletons/pom.xml b/skeletons/pom.xml
index 01768da..45d325d 100644
--- a/skeletons/pom.xml
+++ b/skeletons/pom.xml
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
     <parent>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
diff --git a/skeletons/standalone-compute/pom.xml b/skeletons/standalone-compute/pom.xml
index 3e96fde..e30edfd 100644
--- a/skeletons/standalone-compute/pom.xml
+++ b/skeletons/standalone-compute/pom.xml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>org.jclouds</groupId>
         <artifactId>jclouds-project</artifactId>
-        <version>1.6.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+        <version>1.6.0-alpha.1</version>
         <relativePath>../../project/pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
     <groupId>org.jclouds.api</groupId>
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
         <test.servermanager.identity>FIXME</test.servermanager.identity>
         <test.servermanager.endpoint>https://servermanager.com</test.servermanager.endpoint>
         <test.servermanager.api-version>1.0</test.servermanager.api-version>
-        <test.servermanager.build-version></test.servermanager.build-version>
+        <test.servermanager.build-version />
         <test.servermanager.identity>FIXME</test.servermanager.identity>
 
       <jclouds.osgi.export>org.jclouds.servermanager*;version="${project.version}"</jclouds.osgi.export>