Digital Rights Management in Windows

As an external observer, it appears that certain Fair Use rights of Copyright audio have been foreclosed by Microsoft, without notice.  It is clear that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act put Federal teeth into protecting the rights of music and movie publishers against people who illegal share high quality copies of their material.  And, of course, it is only to be expected that something had to be done to stop free distribution of material that cost something to make and, on which, something should be earned by the originator from the sale of every copy.  A Windows feature call Secure Audio Path has been around for a while that protects against illegal copying of certain copyright works by reversably encrypting the binary representation of sound from the source to the sound card driver.  Interlopers hear random noise.  Back in the day, you could hookup a tape recorder and make a copy of the radio station playing in your town.  That was called Fair Use, and Congress mandated that manufacturers of magnetic tape put a surcharge on blank tape, as it was assumed that every blank tape would be filled with copyright material.  These days, you cannot record the sound coming out of your computer's speakers, because the fear is that what is playing is copyright material.  And who are you to record that?  You might (gasp!) sell it on eBay.  So all sound, with and without pictures, is assumed to be copyright material and is off limits to every Windows user.  And without notice from Microsoft.  The value of Windows to me would be enhanced were it possible for me to digitally record what comes out of my computer's speakers, which, in my lonely case, is not copyright material.  But, it is no longer possible, despite no admission of that fact by Microsoft.