Scratch

I have had some trouble installing scratch on Ubuntu 64 bit. I have managed to get through it, and thought others may want to benefit from my experience. Of course, what worked for me may not  work for you.

1) Scratch, as built in the Ubuntu .deb file, is 32-bit.
2) 64-bit Ubuntu will run 32-bit programs in general, but needs some cajoling to get it to install scratch.

A number of places have suggested simply telling ubuntu to ignore the 32bit/64bit incompatibility using the command line as follows:
    sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i ./scratch_1.4.0.1-0ubuntu5_i386.deb
However, this didn't work for me. I got an error as follows:
    dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
     package architecture (i386) does not match system (amd64)
    . . .
    dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of scratch:i386:
     scratch:i386 depends on libc6 (>= 2.4).
     scratch:i386 depends  . . .
    . . .
    Unknown media type in type 'all/all'
    . . .
    Errors were encountered while processing:
     scratch:i386

So I did the following
1) I modified the contents of the .deb file so that it said that it was targeted to the amd64 architecture instead of i386. That is a large set of steps. This link gave me the info I needed on how to do it:
    http://thedarkmaster.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/how-to-create-manipulate-a-deb-file-of-a-compiled-application/
I will happily upload or e-mail the file I created if anyone wants it.

2) I made sure that my previous attempts to install were cleaned up with the following:
    sudo dpkg --force-architecture -P scratch:i386

3) I opened the Ubuntu Software Center, made sure the package ia32-libs was installed, and then closed the Ubuntu Software Center

4) I double-clicked on my .deb file. The Ubuntu Software Center opened again, and after a few moments, Scratch appeared, ready for me to click on the Install button.

5) I clicked Install, and waited for the installation to complete.

After this, I ran Scratch from the Applications menu, and was able to complete the "Getting Started" tutorial without any apparent errors.

Let me know if anyone would like the .deb file I created. I am somewhat reticent about making the file too available, because it is a 32-bit .deb file masquerading as a 64-bit one. Still, it works, and I guess that's the main thing.