Running 32bit applications on a 64bit system

[Anthony Papillion]

Hello Everyone,

I've run Linux on the server for several years but this is my first
foray into the desktop and I have to say I am impressed. I installed
Ubuntu on my Acer laptop the other night after a frustrating
experience with Windows Vista and I can honestly say I will never look
back. Pretty much everything "just worked" and I'm slowly working on
the few things that didn't work (webcam, Flash).

One of the problems I ran into (really the only problem) was with
installing and running 32bit applications on my system. I'm running
the latest 64bit version of Ubuntu fully patched. There are two
programs, in particular, I need that will not run on the 64bit
installation and I'm wondering if there's a way around it. I'm trying
to run Skype and I'm trying to install the Adobe Flash player.

Does anyone have any newbie tips on getting these to work or will I
need to start over and install the 32bit version of Ubuntu?

Thanks,
Anthony P.