Short tags aren't going anywhere, so why not use them! Short tags are best used in template files in frameworks like Zend Framework.

These are short tags

<? $items = array('apple','pie','bacon'); ?>
<? foreach ($items as $item) : ?>
  <? if ($item == 'bacon') : ?>
    <b><?=$item?></b>
  <? else : ?>
    <?=$item?>
  <? endif ; ?>
<?endforeach ; ?>

Enable in php.ini

short_open_tag = On

Enable in .htaccess

php_flag short_open_tags on

Hooray for less typing!