diff --git a/bin/spack b/bin/spack
index 0af8d62b5e2ec1e0913220cf736c03aae3e1b713..679ca9f1be0da2902c5e5accc407b6834b314f53 100755
--- a/bin/spack
+++ b/bin/spack
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@
 # Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
 ##############################################################################
 import sys
-if not sys.version_info[:2] >= (2,7):
-    sys.exit("Spack requires Python 2.7.  Version was %s." % sys.version_info)
+if not sys.version_info[:2] >= (2,6):
+    sys.exit("Spack requires Python 2.6.  Version was %s." % sys.version_info)
 
 import os
 
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/stage.py b/lib/spack/spack/stage.py
index 839555d6303bfb885668640e0f8919202cdacc68..3dac7983963092aee5fb8b7890efefdda3a411b4 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/stage.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/stage.py
@@ -120,8 +120,7 @@ def _need_to_create_path(self):
             if spack.use_tmp_stage:
                 # If we're using a tmp dir, it's a link, and it points at the right spot,
                 # then keep it.
-                if (os.path.commonprefix((real_path, real_tmp)) == real_tmp
-                    and os.path.exists(real_path)):
+                if (real_path.startswith(real_tmp) and os.path.exists(real_path)):
                     return False
                 else:
                     # otherwise, just unlink it and start over.
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/__init__.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/__init__.py
index 4479c45d77019464a503865c4dbad8f3d96525fe..8ddc7f227d85d2e6f7376282d8abf81f836f3668 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/__init__.py
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ def run(names, verbose=False):
 
     runner = unittest.TextTestRunner(verbosity=verbosity)
 
-    testsRun = errors = failures = skipped = 0
+    testsRun = errors = failures = 0
     for test in names:
         module = 'spack.test.' + test
         print module
@@ -83,12 +83,10 @@ def run(names, verbose=False):
         testsRun += result.testsRun
         errors   += len(result.errors)
         failures += len(result.failures)
-        skipped  += len(result.skipped)
 
     succeeded = not errors and not failures
     tty.msg("Tests Complete.",
             "%5d tests run" % testsRun,
-            "%5d skipped" % skipped,
             "%5d failures" % failures,
             "%5d errors" % errors)
 
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/concretize.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/concretize.py
index 6ad2ef29d8d37627974ab45782f37515dd185ed6..a7f4812c8cf068ecfdaeef867ecd562aa9781021 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/concretize.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/concretize.py
@@ -134,29 +134,29 @@ def test_concretize_with_provides_when(self):
     def test_virtual_is_fully_expanded_for_callpath(self):
         # force dependence on fake "zmpi" by asking for MPI 10.0
         spec = Spec('callpath ^mpi@10.0')
-        self.assertIn('mpi', spec.dependencies)
-        self.assertNotIn('fake', spec)
+        self.assertTrue('mpi' in spec.dependencies)
+        self.assertFalse('fake' in spec)
 
         spec.concretize()
 
-        self.assertIn('zmpi', spec.dependencies)
-        self.assertNotIn('mpi', spec)
-        self.assertIn('fake', spec.dependencies['zmpi'])
+        self.assertTrue('zmpi' in spec.dependencies)
+        self.assertFalse('mpi' in spec)
+        self.assertTrue('fake' in spec.dependencies['zmpi'])
 
 
     def test_virtual_is_fully_expanded_for_mpileaks(self):
         spec = Spec('mpileaks ^mpi@10.0')
-        self.assertIn('mpi', spec.dependencies)
-        self.assertNotIn('fake', spec)
+        self.assertTrue('mpi' in spec.dependencies)
+        self.assertFalse('fake' in spec)
 
         spec.concretize()
 
-        self.assertIn('zmpi', spec.dependencies)
-        self.assertIn('callpath', spec.dependencies)
-        self.assertIn('zmpi', spec.dependencies['callpath'].dependencies)
-        self.assertIn('fake', spec.dependencies['callpath'].dependencies['zmpi'].dependencies)
+        self.assertTrue('zmpi' in spec.dependencies)
+        self.assertTrue('callpath' in spec.dependencies)
+        self.assertTrue('zmpi' in spec.dependencies['callpath'].dependencies)
+        self.assertTrue('fake' in spec.dependencies['callpath'].dependencies['zmpi'].dependencies)
 
-        self.assertNotIn('mpi', spec)
+        self.assertFalse('mpi' in spec)
 
 
     def test_my_dep_depends_on_provider_of_my_virtual_dep(self):
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/mock_packages_test.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/mock_packages_test.py
index adde70ff6c276700559bc556e3bbdbadf399cbfa..e94837603935eff2df33de3b9717f80b31c38168 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/mock_packages_test.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/mock_packages_test.py
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ def set_pkg_dep(pkg, spec):
 
 
 class MockPackagesTest(unittest.TestCase):
-    @classmethod
     def setUp(self):
         # Use the mock packages database for these tests.  This allows
         # us to set up contrived packages that don't interfere with
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ def setUp(self):
             'site' : spack.mock_site_config,
             'user' : spack.mock_user_config }
 
-    @classmethod
+
     def tearDown(self):
         """Restore the real packages path after any test."""
         spack.db = self.real_db
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/spec_dag.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/spec_dag.py
index 322f34cf024b57cbd9f5f14d3af75237540eb23e..fb67aa8a8da02658b96b533d01bff443da5e6ed9 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/spec_dag.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/spec_dag.py
@@ -57,10 +57,10 @@ def test_preorder_node_traversal(self):
         pairs = zip([0,1,2,3,4,2,3], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse()
-        self.assertListEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
+        self.assertEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(depth=True)
-        self.assertListEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
+        self.assertEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
 
 
     def test_preorder_edge_traversal(self):
@@ -72,10 +72,10 @@ def test_preorder_edge_traversal(self):
         pairs = zip([0,1,2,3,4,3,2,3,1], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='edges')
-        self.assertListEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
+        self.assertEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='edges', depth=True)
-        self.assertListEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
+        self.assertEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
 
 
     def test_preorder_path_traversal(self):
@@ -87,10 +87,10 @@ def test_preorder_path_traversal(self):
         pairs = zip([0,1,2,3,4,3,2,3,1,2], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='paths')
-        self.assertListEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
+        self.assertEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='paths', depth=True)
-        self.assertListEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
+        self.assertEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
 
 
     def test_postorder_node_traversal(self):
@@ -102,10 +102,10 @@ def test_postorder_node_traversal(self):
         pairs = zip([4,3,2,3,2,1,0], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(order='post')
-        self.assertListEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
+        self.assertEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(depth=True, order='post')
-        self.assertListEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
+        self.assertEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
 
 
     def test_postorder_edge_traversal(self):
@@ -117,10 +117,10 @@ def test_postorder_edge_traversal(self):
         pairs = zip([4,3,3,2,3,2,1,1,0], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='edges', order='post')
-        self.assertListEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
+        self.assertEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='edges', depth=True, order='post')
-        self.assertListEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
+        self.assertEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
 
 
     def test_postorder_path_traversal(self):
@@ -132,10 +132,10 @@ def test_postorder_path_traversal(self):
         pairs = zip([4,3,3,2,3,2,1,2,1,0], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='paths', order='post')
-        self.assertListEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
+        self.assertEqual([x.name for x in traversal], names)
 
         traversal = dag.traverse(cover='paths', depth=True, order='post')
-        self.assertListEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
+        self.assertEqual([(x, y.name) for x,y in traversal], pairs)
 
 
     def test_conflicting_spec_constraints(self):
@@ -199,13 +199,13 @@ def test_normalize_with_virtual_spec(self):
     def check_links(self, spec_to_check):
         for spec in spec_to_check.traverse():
             for dependent in spec.dependents.values():
-                self.assertIn(
-                    spec.name, dependent.dependencies,
+                self.assertTrue(
+                    spec.name in dependent.dependencies,
                     "%s not in dependencies of %s" % (spec.name, dependent.name))
 
             for dependency in spec.dependencies.values():
-                self.assertIn(
-                    spec.name, dependency.dependents,
+                self.assertTrue(
+                    spec.name in dependency.dependents,
                     "%s not in dependents of %s" % (spec.name, dependency.name))
 
 
@@ -385,13 +385,13 @@ def test_normalize_with_virtual_package(self):
 
     def test_contains(self):
         spec = Spec('mpileaks ^mpi ^libelf@1.8.11 ^libdwarf')
-        self.assertIn(Spec('mpi'), spec)
-        self.assertIn(Spec('libelf'), spec)
-        self.assertIn(Spec('libelf@1.8.11'), spec)
-        self.assertNotIn(Spec('libelf@1.8.12'), spec)
-        self.assertIn(Spec('libdwarf'), spec)
-        self.assertNotIn(Spec('libgoblin'), spec)
-        self.assertIn(Spec('mpileaks'), spec)
+        self.assertTrue(Spec('mpi') in spec)
+        self.assertTrue(Spec('libelf') in spec)
+        self.assertTrue(Spec('libelf@1.8.11') in spec)
+        self.assertFalse(Spec('libelf@1.8.12') in spec)
+        self.assertTrue(Spec('libdwarf') in spec)
+        self.assertFalse(Spec('libgoblin') in spec)
+        self.assertTrue(Spec('mpileaks') in spec)
 
 
     def test_copy_simple(self):
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/stage.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/stage.py
index 08899f9810596dc0030ecc1551d02a27b41696ff..a412549dc71cdffc09ef7cbb97a2a7a4ff637b07 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/stage.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/stage.py
@@ -51,28 +51,20 @@
 stage_name = 'spack-test-stage'
 
 
-class with_tmp(object):
-    """Decorator that executes a function with or without spack set to use
-       a temp dir.  Spack allows builds to happen directly in the
-       stage directory or in a tmp dir and symlinked into the stage
-       directory, so this lets us use the same test in both cases.
+@contextmanager
+def use_tmp(use_tmp):
+    """Allow some test code to be executed with spack.use_tmp_stage
+       set to a certain value.  Context manager makes sure it's reset
+       on failure.
     """
-    def __init__(self, use_tmp):
-        self.use_tmp = use_tmp
-
-    def __call__(self, fun):
-        use_tmp = self.use_tmp
-        def new_test_function(self):
-            old_tmp = spack.use_tmp_stage
-            spack.use_tmp_stage = use_tmp
-            fun(self)
-            spack.use_tmp_stage = old_tmp
-        return new_test_function
+    old_tmp = spack.use_tmp_stage
+    spack.use_tmp_stage = use_tmp
+    yield
+    spack.use_tmp_stage = old_tmp
 
 
 class StageTest(unittest.TestCase):
-    @classmethod
-    def setUpClass(cls):
+    def setUp(self):
         """This sets up a mock archive to fetch, and a mock temp space for use
            by the Stage class.  It doesn't actually create the Stage -- that
            is done by individual tests.
@@ -92,52 +84,58 @@ def setUpClass(cls):
             tar('czf', archive_name, archive_dir)
 
         # Make spack use the test environment for tmp stuff.
-        cls.old_tmp_dirs = spack.tmp_dirs
+        self.old_tmp_dirs = spack.tmp_dirs
         spack.tmp_dirs = [test_tmp_path]
 
+        # record this since this test changes to directories that will
+        # be removed.
+        self.working_dir = os.getcwd()
+
 
-    @classmethod
-    def tearDownClass(cls):
+    def tearDown(self):
         """Blows away the test environment directory."""
         shutil.rmtree(test_files_dir)
 
+        # chdir back to original working dir
+        os.chdir(self.working_dir)
+
         # restore spack's original tmp environment
-        spack.tmp_dirs = cls.old_tmp_dirs
+        spack.tmp_dirs = self.old_tmp_dirs
 
 
     def get_stage_path(self, stage, stage_name):
-        """Figure out based on a stage and an intended name where it should
-           be living.  This depends on whether it's named or not.
+        """Figure out where a stage should be living.  This depends on
+           whether it's named.
         """
-        if stage_name:
+        if stage_name is not None:
             # If it is a named stage, we know where the stage should be
-            stage_path = join_path(spack.stage_path, stage_name)
+            return join_path(spack.stage_path, stage_name)
         else:
             # If it's unnamed, ensure that we ran mkdtemp in the right spot.
-            stage_path = stage.path
-            self.assertIsNotNone(stage_path)
-            self.assertEqual(
-                os.path.commonprefix((stage_path, spack.stage_path)),
-                spack.stage_path)
-        return stage_path
+            self.assertTrue(stage.path is not None)
+            self.assertTrue(stage.path.startswith(spack.stage_path))
+            return stage.path
 
 
     def check_setup(self, stage, stage_name):
         """Figure out whether a stage was set up correctly."""
         stage_path = self.get_stage_path(stage, stage_name)
+
+        # Ensure stage was created in the spack stage directory
         self.assertTrue(os.path.isdir(stage_path))
 
         if spack.use_tmp_stage:
-            # Make sure everything was created and linked correctly for
-            # a tmp stage.
+            # Check that the stage dir is really a symlink.
             self.assertTrue(os.path.islink(stage_path))
 
+            # Make sure it points to a valid directory
             target = os.path.realpath(stage_path)
             self.assertTrue(os.path.isdir(target))
             self.assertFalse(os.path.islink(target))
-            self.assertEqual(
-                os.path.commonprefix((target, test_tmp_path)),
-                test_tmp_path)
+
+            # Make sure the directory is in the place we asked it to
+            # be (see setUp and tearDown)
+            self.assertTrue(target.startswith(test_tmp_path))
 
         else:
             # Make sure the stage path is NOT a link for a non-tmp stage
@@ -146,15 +144,15 @@ def check_setup(self, stage, stage_name):
 
     def check_fetch(self, stage, stage_name):
         stage_path = self.get_stage_path(stage, stage_name)
-        self.assertIn(archive_name, os.listdir(stage_path))
+        self.assertTrue(archive_name in os.listdir(stage_path))
         self.assertEqual(join_path(stage_path, archive_name),
                          stage.archive_file)
 
 
     def check_expand_archive(self, stage, stage_name):
         stage_path = self.get_stage_path(stage, stage_name)
-        self.assertIn(archive_name, os.listdir(stage_path))
-        self.assertIn(archive_dir, os.listdir(stage_path))
+        self.assertTrue(archive_name in os.listdir(stage_path))
+        self.assertTrue(archive_dir in os.listdir(stage_path))
 
         self.assertEqual(
             join_path(stage_path, archive_dir),
@@ -192,32 +190,40 @@ def check_destroy(self, stage, stage_name):
             self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(target))
 
 
-    def checkSetupAndDestroy(self, stage_name=None):
-        stage = Stage(archive_url, name=stage_name)
-        self.check_setup(stage, stage_name)
-
-        stage.destroy()
-        self.check_destroy(stage, stage_name)
-
-
-    @with_tmp(True)
     def test_setup_and_destroy_name_with_tmp(self):
-        self.checkSetupAndDestroy(stage_name)
+        with use_tmp(True):
+            stage = Stage(archive_url, name=stage_name)
+            self.check_setup(stage, stage_name)
+
+            stage.destroy()
+            self.check_destroy(stage, stage_name)
 
 
-    @with_tmp(False)
     def test_setup_and_destroy_name_without_tmp(self):
-        self.checkSetupAndDestroy(stage_name)
+        with use_tmp(False):
+            stage = Stage(archive_url, name=stage_name)
+            self.check_setup(stage, stage_name)
+
+            stage.destroy()
+            self.check_destroy(stage, stage_name)
 
 
-    @with_tmp(True)
     def test_setup_and_destroy_no_name_with_tmp(self):
-        self.checkSetupAndDestroy(None)
+        with use_tmp(True):
+            stage = Stage(archive_url)
+            self.check_setup(stage, None)
+
+            stage.destroy()
+            self.check_destroy(stage, None)
 
 
-    @with_tmp(False)
     def test_setup_and_destroy_no_name_without_tmp(self):
-        self.checkSetupAndDestroy(None)
+        with use_tmp(False):
+            stage = Stage(archive_url)
+            self.check_setup(stage, None)
+
+            stage.destroy()
+            self.check_destroy(stage, None)
 
 
     def test_chdir(self):
@@ -286,7 +292,7 @@ def test_restage(self):
         with closing(open('foobar', 'w')) as file:
             file.write("this file is to be destroyed.")
 
-        self.assertIn('foobar', os.listdir(stage.expanded_archive_path))
+        self.assertTrue('foobar' in os.listdir(stage.expanded_archive_path))
 
         # Make sure the file is not there after restage.
         stage.restage()
@@ -295,7 +301,7 @@ def test_restage(self):
 
         stage.chdir_to_archive()
         self.check_chdir_to_archive(stage, stage_name)
-        self.assertNotIn('foobar', os.listdir(stage.expanded_archive_path))
+        self.assertFalse('foobar' in os.listdir(stage.expanded_archive_path))
 
         stage.destroy()
         self.check_destroy(stage, stage_name)