I love the idea of this, but I'd have to tweak the execution of the desktop version to make it work on commercial projects. The massive width and low number of columns would only allow for chunky and unsubtle layouts. Fine for a couple of marketing pages but not so great for most polished apps.

The reason 960's 12 column works so well is because 12 is the lowest number divisible by both 2 and 3, so you can have the page divided into halves, quarters, thirds and so on, plus you can double the columns to 24 without losing ratios if you really need to get fine-grained. 8 is a bit less flexible.