Note: Using short tags should be avoided when developing applications or libraries that are meant for redistribution, or deployment on PHP servers which are not under your control, because short tags may not be supported on the target server. For portable, redistributable code, be sure not to use short tags.

Basic syntax

No pude encontrar el link en el manual que dice que el uso de las S.O.T. está deprecado, pero recuerdo haberlo comentado en tu blog.