Well, SmartDashboard is supposed to have static members - this means you don't have to have an object of the type to use them. This is denoted with the "::". A few things do this, often getInstance functions to get singleton instances of a class. I'm willing to help answer any questions you may have, so please, just ask!
One of 166's team members made a simple launcher for the SmartDashboard, and he's posting it now.
EDIT: It's
here