Invoking dash independently

If you're readng about this, it will probably help to know that the application dock on the left, in Unity, is called the Launcher. I think this is the bar you mean. The thin bar along the top, with the menu, and indicators like the clock, is called the Panel.

I searched a little for "permanently hide unity launcher".

I haven't done this myself, but here is one article by someone who has changed the auto-hide settings so the Launcher never shows:

  http://ubuntuinthewild.blogspot.com/2012/03/permanently-hide-your-unity-launcher.html

I'm sure there are more possibilities. They will probably be unofficial tweaks like that. Hope this can help. :)

Hi Javier, do you mean invoking the various lenses like the application lense, the music lense. etc. without clicking the dash button on the launcher? If so, there are keyboard shortcuts for those: Super-A for the application lense, Super-M for the music lense, Super-F for the file lense. If you just hold down the Super key it will reveal the window with the list of keyboard shortcuts in Unity.

Have a look here; http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2096358 #6
Dis regard the words, but look at the screenshots.

Also, have a look here, http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2089919&page=24 #240
you can see it in larger snapshots.

Should we have a distro with only the Dash?