I don't think MJ is flying airliners, and if he flys what I think he flies, he will be using his GPS far more intensively than an average ppl would (or even should - single pilot vs multi pilot).
We use an even older version of GPS receiver, never had too much of a problem with it and whilst I agree the Trimble is excellent, I reckon what we have is even better. Whilst electronics will have advanced over the last ten years, most of that advancement will have been in the user interface and miniturisation rather than a significant improvement in quality or reliability. Indeed, could it been that modern cheaper GPS units be of poorer quality to make them more available to the masses?
I agree GPS is probably the most relaible means of navigation for most pilots, but everyone needs to know the limits and still be able to navigate the old fashioned way. Problem is that other means of nav need practice and if you only ever use GPS, your old skills deminish and you are ill prepared for the fancy black box loosing its fix.