As I stare at this comment on my magical handheld slab of light I can't help but wonder how many layers of virtual machines, or other abstractions, are between

As I stare at this comment on my magical handheld slab of light I can't help but wonder how many layers of virtual machines, or other abstractions, are between the pixels and the source data they represent. I can think of more than I care to admit. Lately I've been shopping for a PS/2 or equivalent; it has something to do with this.