Television has long been identified as a dead hand on culture; but George Gilder suggests here that this centralized, authoritarian institution is also a dying technology and that the telecomputer - a powerful interactive system that will affect all aspects of life, from education to business to leisure time - will replace it. America is presently at the forefront of telecomputer development, but government restrictions - such as those that limit the wide use of fibre-optic technology - may hinder the American companies in the vanguard. Gilder's optimistic message is that the United States has only to unleash its industrial resources to command the "telefuture", in which new technology will overthrow the stultifying influence of mass media and renew the power of individuals.