I am not sure what problems you are having with lag, as I am running 1.8 with only 3 GB of ram and an i3 processor. Also the statement of bukkit no longer being developed is incorrect, as Dinnerbone stated he would be making sure that the 1.8 bukkit release was completed. Also, the new minecraft block id system is not that bad, as you can tab through the available blocks/items like you can with completing commands.
