Yep that's my blog.

I'd say 1 and 2 are the same deal, the glass presets use Fresnel reflections.

Using the samplerInfo node and a ramp(linked above) to control the blinn's reflectivity is another way but I don't see much point in it if you're using Mental Ray, the mia_material_x is more realistic and extremely versatile. I'd rather avoid the hassle.