[LAU] OT: 64 vs 32 bit?

[Josh Lawrence]

Hi everyone,

I'm late to the party when it comes to 64-bit machines, so apologies
in advance if I am asking something that should be obvious...

I recently purchased a 64 bit machine and like it a lot, but I've
noticed that some software that is usually available on a 32 bit
machine isn't available in the 64 bit repos that I am using.  Can I
install the 32 bit version of my distro (Debian) on my 64 bit machine?
 I'm assuming that would give me access to all 32 bit software.  It
would also be a performance hit, correct?

Thank you!

Josh