Well, let's see... In the case of my monitor, the software sets a single byte in a direct memory array which is then sent directly to the monitor via a direct,

Well, let's see... In the case of my monitor, the software sets a single byte in a direct memory array which is then sent directly to the monitor via a direct, dedicated connection, for a total distance of about 3 feet. An HTTP request is usually closer to a kilobyte. So there's your two orders of magnitude, right there. Then add in the fact that the communication channels are miles long, routed through dozens of separate hardware modules, shared not only with other traffic but with other protocols, subject to synchronization and concurrency issues, etc... Really, the situations aren't comparable at all. Not to say networking couldn't be faster. But it's a very, very different problem.