I too hate the new mirror screens Apple is forcing us to use (if we want to stay within the Mac world). I have experimented with a number of possibilities including removing the front panel (which is not glass by the way, but some sort of acrylic material instead), which reduces the overall glare significantly (my guess by about 40%).
I have tried different films applied to the outside panel (terrible results with little improvement with low anti-glare films to awful red sparkles with the high anti-glare films (photodon films). I have tried applying the various films to the surface of the LCD itself. This has had better effects, and I settled on the MXH film from Photodon. This reduced glare slightly without any noticeable loss of graphic clarity. I would consider the higher rated MXT film if I had to do it over again. The red pixeling you see when film is applied to the outside panel does not exist with the MXH when applied to the LCD. I doubt even the MXT would be a problem if applied directly to the LCD itself. The film was much easier to apply than I suspected it would be and I completed the job w/o any bubbles at all.
I also had a piece of museum glass cut to size and replaced the front panel. I painted the outside edges black to cover up the hardware underneath, and are using it as I type this. From the outside it looks exactly like the original panel. The museum glass cuts down the reflection/glare by about 50% over the original Apple panel. I have contacted a fabricator to apply some metal strips on the glass to hold it tight in place and are confident it will be a very workable and attractive solution. Mind you, the film on the LCD and the museum glass in front together do not reduce reflection/glare to the level of our beloved matte screens, but it gets about half way there. I suspect it would achieve another 10% to 20% with a higher rated anti-glare film, but still not what Apple achieved with their old monitors.
Costs
The film from Photodon (which I had custom cut, and they did a great job) was about $45 or $50. The museum glass was about $125. The custom corner grinding was $15. I simply taped the glass once it was cut and shaped and spray painted the 1" outside edges with a black paint. I am still working to get some metal strips attached to the glass so that it is held firm. Overall, I expect to have some $275 to $300 invested in my new panel. It should be indistinguishable from the original once complete.
Overall, I'd say I've got about a 50% reduction in reflectivity and a 10% matte appearance on my monitor. If I had gone with the MXT film instead of the MXH, I think my overall performance would have been closer to 60% to 65% improvement.
I am also investigating other materials for the outside panel. Museum glass is good if you don't ship or move your machine much, but it would be a real breakage hazard if you did.
You can see my work and pictures at:
http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/album/A24A3933AAB4?c=pw59560&CS_003=4433951
