It IS a good upgrade. I love mine. Greater reliability than the stock maf and adds tuning ability. One of my "top 5" things I did to my car. The ability to adjust fuel and timing curves is nice. My translator plus is not as good as the new gen II/pro, or an aftermarket ecu, but it sure beats the hell out of tuning with boost and fuel pressure after the maf has topped out.
That being said, it is by no means a "must have", at least not like a better fuel pump/wiring and scan tool are "must haves". Plenty of people going fast without it, and going cross country without it. I've heard turbotweak's stuff is top notch also. But I have no personal experience with turbotweak stuff.
My next project will probably get my translator plus and I'll buy a gen II for the GN.