i don't think that a short name is all that feasible [given that they will have been snapped up]. i recommend the inventive use of hyphens - they can be pretty effective for getting sites whose names might already have gone. also, .org, .us, .net etc are all good alternatives.
i'm not convinced that a long name is all that bad, hardwarecentral got by ok )
the best advice i can give is think about what the site is going to be and what its intended audience etc is. the information/stuff that it provides should ideally have a relationship to the name.
deadcomps | clickofdeath | underclocked | transparentcomputing | fixmegood
that's all i've got at 1.35am, sorry