I agree - I think this is a great idea and really cool to see. However, when I first went to the site, there was something off putting about it which I couldn't put my finger on. Thinking about it, I think it's the amount of eye movement required to scan the links. With HN, on a wide screen, scanning the stories to find ones I want to read only requires a limited amount of movement, mostly downward, whereas with the grid, I have to scan across the entire screen and after doing so, completing one row, I've only scanned the titles of four stories...

Nonetheless, I like the innovative idea. Thanks for sharing!