I can personally say that even if they'd included a basic ripper in the OS I still wouldn't have touched it (like that crap DVD player they install for some users in Win10). So if I had to guess I'd say they simply never saw great demand from users for this feature because great third-party rippers have been available for ages, and those that wanted something from MS could be pointed to WMP easily. Now we can debate if that was a good decision or not, but it really would be pointless now in late 2016 (especially since they've dropped or not added far more important features that people do care about).
I believe in part to explain why Microsoft took a long time to launch this feature due to fear of legal proceedings. Probably afraid of punishment in courts for a negative repercussion among the major producers of content. It could, for example, have pioneered production of the first mp3 files on pre-Napster times. What possibly would not be good at it from a legal point of view. Although surely satisfy your customers. cheers
Not so strange actually, and I had seen it before posting and expected the remark. So, to satisfy natural human curiosity, I also participate in other forums and post pics in discussions. And with American elections being current, my politicians' pics happen to be in that folder created at the time of Bush, notorious for his web images. Elementary my dear Watson!