Getting to minecraft.net a little bit faster (both client and server)

So i read about a article that minecraft.net can't fully cope with the amount of users, you may have noticed this when connecting to the site (which is awfully slow at times)
But, there is a workaround so it goes a bit faster for me it went for 10 seconds until finished connecting, to about..1? 2? seconds
This works for both the client and the server, let me explain:
When you connect to minecraft.net, a lookup happens first which translates minecraft.net to a IP (DNS lookup)
now, you can modify a file in your OS to "skip" this lookup by having the lookup reference local. So it looks on your system what the IP for minecraft.net is

For the server its a tad bit different. The server sends a hearthbeat signal to minecraft.net every 30 seconds, if minecraft.net doesn't receive another signal after 30 seconds, then it removes the entry in the server listing. That is why it is called a hearthbeat signal, it shows that the server is still alive

Now on to the real deal, how to modify those files
you need to modify the hosts file (it has no extension), you can find these files in:
windows: /system32/drivers/etc
linux: /etc/
mac: /etc (use Go to folder)
i only have windows so i can't be really specific on linux and mac (mac even less then linux :p)
now, open the file with a text editor (no word or so, notepad, no formatting ), add the following 2 lines:

Code:

69.175.14.242 minecraft.net
69.175.14.242 www.minecraft.net

one more step
save and close the file
if it won't let you save the file, copy the file to your desktop, modify it there and copy it back :3
you need to flush your dns cache, so it uses the new info, here is how you do it
windows: open a command prompt (start > run > cmd) and enter this line in there: ipconfig /flushdns
mac: lookupd -flushcache in the console
linux is same as mac i think (since max is a unix derivative, just like linux)
again, can't help you allot with mac and linux tho :<

now, go to minecraft.net and you should notice a speed increase if not then it probably aint much of a difference to you
if the page refuses to load, then you did something wrong (you may post the contents of your hosts file here and il have a look at it)

I dont think the DNS lookup would cause a 8 second delay?

it can
if the DNS is under heavy load, then you will have to wait until it gets to your request. that response can take a while (depending on what load the DNS server is)
with this little tweak, you will skip the dns lookup completely