[ ](http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/steve-ballmer-calls-dropbox-little-startup/)
Microsoft is [no stranger](http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/26/windows-8-catastrophe/) to [industry flak](http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/07/acer-tells-microsoft-to-think-twice-about-surface/), but it's always better to give than to receive, right? [Steve Ballmer](http://www.engadget.com/tag/steveballmer/) thinks so, and in a recent _Bloomberg_ interview, he took a second away from talking up the new [Office 2013](http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/microsoft-office-2013-office-365-home-premium-available-now/) to smite [Dropbox](http://www.engadget.com/tag/dropbox), saying that the 100 million users it boasts "sounds like a pretty small number to me." He recovered slightly by adding "I'm not beating on Dropbox," only to follow it with the finishing blow: "They're a fine little startup and that's great." We doubt anyone else would call Dropbox a startup at this point, but Microsoft's chief can't be seen complimenting a [SkyDrive](http://www.engadget.com/tag/skydrive/) rival now, can he? After having to defend the user stats for [Redmond's Yammer](http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/19/microsoft-finalizes-yammer-buy-out-joins-the-office/), he was also quizzed on the [undying](http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/12/microsoft-considering-office-for-ipad/) native [Office for iPad](http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/10/czech-microsoft-manager-claims-office-2013-will-reach-android-ios/) rumor, to which he had "nothing to say," apart from "we'll see what we see in the future." If these snippets aren't quite enough, then head to the source link for the full interview. Ballmer may be a little [less shouty](http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/steve-ballmer-makes-his-triumphant-return-to-microsoft-ads/) these days, but it's good to know he's still capable of delivering the odd [high-caliber burn](http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/19/ce-oh-no-he-didnt-steve-ballmer-lays-into-android/).
Filed under: [Internet](http://www.engadget.com/category/internet/), [Microsoft](http://www.engadget.com/category/microsoft/)
**[Comments](http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/steve-ballmer-calls-dropbox-little-startup/#comments)**
**Via:** [The Verge](http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/30/3931846/steve-ballmer-on-small-dropbox-users-interview)
**Source:** [Bloomberg](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-29/microsofts-steve-ballmer-does-not-fear-dropbox-or-an-office-less-ipad#p2)
URL: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/steve-ballmer-calls-dropbox-little-startup/
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