noob question if the ever was

i have been trying to work out some issues with a couple programs(aMSN and amarok for example) that aren’t so manageable in terminal(aMSN for example likes to close the terminal on start up) my question is simple and applies mostly to the aMSN example. is there anyway to get a generalized output to be displayed in terminal or elsewhere? i know its a pretty simple question for all the guru’s out there but i would really appreciate a nudge in the right direction