This tip is from a sticky on the Ubuntu Forums ( www.ubuntuforums.org ):
when installing am *.i386.deb package from the command line, simply insert the '--force-architecture' (without quotes) in your standard command. There will be a complaint about the architecture that you see, but it does continue, and has been a godsend for me in terms of w32codecs and installing my brother mfc210c printer.
e.g. sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture /home/username/packagename
when installing am *.i386.deb package from the command line, simply insert the '--force-architecture' (without quotes) in your standard command. There will be a complaint about the architecture that you see, but it does continue, and has been a godsend for me in terms of w32codecs and installing my brother mfc210c printer.
e.g. sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture /home/username/packagename