Demand for beta copies of Microsoft's Deepfish Web browser quickly outstripped supply, leaving hopeful mobile users fuming. Demand for a beta version of Microsoft’s new “Deepfish” Web browser for mobile phones appears to have far outstripped the company’s limited supply. After unveiling the new software at O’Reilly’s eTech conference late Wednesday, and offering a free demo version for download, the company was overwhelmed with requests, according to a post on the Deepfish download Web site. Judging by user feedback comments — which many aspiring beta applications used to vent at Microsoft for its limited beta program — the supply of beta versions of Deepfish lasted about 12 hours before being exhausted.“Please remove the download link if you already know you won’t let me download it. It just wasted my time.” wrote a visitor to the Deepfish download site who used the name “Shamus”“Disappointed! … whats the point in offering a download link if you aren’t really going to let me download it?” wondered another visitor using the handle “x-man.” According to Microsoft, Deepfish is different from most mobile browsers now in use because it allows formatting rich Web sites to display as they were intended, rather than forcing them into a single-column format that reformats existing pages by repositioning content to fit the limited screen size. Deepfish users can zoom in or out of a Web site on Deepfish, viewing the layout the way designers intended, the company said. Deepfish runs on Windows Mobile Smart Phones or Pocket PCs that run Windows Mobile 5.0. So far, Microsoft is keeping mum about whether it will turn Deepfish into a product. In a company Q&A, LiveLabs director Gary Flake said that Deepfish is a prototype technology, and that Microsoft is not announcing specific plans for making the product more widely available. Judging by comments, users were impressed with the browser’s ability to preserve Web page formatting and with the ability to zoom in and out of pages, but also reported that Deepfish needs work – including the ability to save Web page cookies that are used to store login information for password protected Web sites. Technology Industry