While it's illegal for someone to rip pirated DVDs (ie, "borrow" a dvd from a friend or Blockbust), it is legal under the fair-use clause to view dvds on various devices (ie, laptops, computers, dvd players, and portable media devices)...but I could be wrong. <shrug>

If you're going to rip your own dvds under the fair-use clause and not resell the ripped versions, then give http://www.dvd-wmv.com/default.aspx a shot. It's a fairly easy to use program and works good for created .wmv files. And it's free!