More powerful Ethernet Shield (Alternative)

I Think I could make a really really nice Server of some kind with real world notifications with my DUE, and well it's just sitting in it's nice little pretty Arduino Box complete with stickers
and all instructions blah, just sitting in my drawer waiting to be released out of captivity......

An instant messaging server or chat sever or something low bandwidth, but the problem is the wiznet chip /breakout board is just too weak, 4 sockets? I got a feeling even a regular uno could handle more than
4 sockets even with the memory limitations....

Just as a glancing thought, some kind of Bridge would be nice, a little box that connects to a router via a cable, then using cheaper hardware to connect to that little box (eg, the nrfl? ic's)
eg WIFI > Magic Box.

Arduino > Cheap Hardware (which makes a connection to the Magic Box) and then delivers internet to your device... the magic box could redistribute internet to all your projects without the need to
spend a lot of money on wifi hardware.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ER99-New-10Pcs-NRF24L01-2-4GHz-Antenna-Wireless-Transceiver-For-Microcontroller-/121042003129?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item1c2eaa64b9

That's potentially 10 arduino internet enabled devices! for $12 bucks!