Astro

Astro may refer to:

Entertainment and media

Satellites

Parmalat Canada

Parmalat Canada is a Toronto, Ontario based company that sells dairy products. It is owned by Parmalat SpA of Italy.

The Canadian unit was established in 1997 with the purchase of Beatrice Foods Canada and Ault Foods. It was not affected by financial problems of the parent company and continues to operate in Canada.

Retailers

A list of retailers selling Beatrice products:

Products

Product lines of Parmalat Canada:

See also

References

Astro (Motorola)

ASTRO 25

ASTRO 25 is the next generation of ASTRO digital two-way radio communications by Motorola Solutions. Motorola first introduced digital two-way radio in the U.S. in 1991 under the name ASTRO Digital Solutions.

With the completion of the APCO Project 25 standard, Motorola introduced the ASTRO 25 solution and migrated its ASTRO Digital Solutions customers to ASTRO 25. Project 25 (also known as P25) is a suite of standards for digital radio communications that is designed specifically for law enforcement, fire and medical services to communicate with each other during emergency situations.

ASTRO 25 is now the most widely used P25 mission critical voice and data communication network in the world. It is designed to provide reliable and always available communication for public safety agencies.

The ASTRO 25 system, which complies with the P25 standard, uses TDMA technology to deliver both voice and data messaging over a single wireless communications infrastructure. Because ASTRO 25 is a P25 TDMA system, it offers greater spectrum efficiency, lower equipment costs, advanced radio features and flexibility, and longer battery life. The ASTRO 25 network also ensures encryption key assignment over the system’s radio channels and enhanced network security tools.

Pakistan Air Force

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (Urdu: پاک فِضائیہ‎—Pāk Fizāʾiyah, Urdu: [pɑːk fɪzɑːɪjəɦ], reporting name: PAF), is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport and logistics capability to Pakistan. The PAF employs approximately ~65,000 full-time personnel (including approximately 3,000 pilots) and currently operates 973 aircraft.

Its primary mandate and mission is "to provide, in synergy with other inter-services, the most efficient, assured and cost effective aerial Defence of Pakistan." Since its establishment in 1947, the PAF has been involved in various combat operations, providing aerial support to Inter–Services's operations and relief efforts. Under the Article 243, the Constitution of Pakistan appoints the President of Pakistan as the civilian Commander-in-Chief. The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), by statute a four-star air chief marshal, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Pakistan Air Force is currently commanded by Air Chief Marshal Suhail Aman.

Paf (company)

Ålands Penningautomatförening or Paf is a Finnish company that operates a legal gambling monopoly on the Åland Islands, Finland. Paf also has an Internet-based gambling and gaming operation, in addition to operating and maintaining casino and gaming activities on a large number of cruise ferries. The purpose of Paf is to generate funds for humanitarian and social causes on the Åland Islands. Paf has offices in Mariehamn, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn, Madrid and Milan.

An independent allocation board distributes all the Paf profit to non-profit associations, organizations and good causes on the Åland Islands. In 2014, Paf distributed a total of 21 million euros in different grants and loans.

Paf's counterpart in Mainland Finland is the not-for-profit gambling company RAY ("Raha-automaattiyhdistys" in Finnish). Disputes over jurisdiction between the two associations are ongoing.

PAF (pickup)

A P.A.F. or simply PAF is an early model of the humbucker guitar pickup invented by Seth Lover in 1955. Gibson began use of the PAF on higher-model guitars in late 1956 and stopped ca. 1962. They were replaced by the Patent Number (Pat No) pickup, essentially a refined version of the PAF. These were in turn replaced by "T-Top" humbuckers in 1967, and production ended in 1975. Though it is commonly mistaken as the first humbucker pickup, the PAF was the first humbucker to gain widespread use and notoriety. The PAF is an essential tonal characteristic of the now-famous 1958-1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard guitars, and pickups of this type have gained a large following.

History

Development

In the mid-1950s, Gibson looked to create a new guitar pickup different from existing popular single coil designs. Gibson had already developed the Charlie Christian pickup and P-90 in the 1930s and 40s; however, these designs—like competitor Fender's single-coil pickups—were fraught with inherent 60-cycle hum sound interference. Engineer and Gibson employee Seth Lover spent much of 1954 working on a noise-cancelling or "hum-bucking" guitar pickup design. By early 1955, the design was completed. In June 1955, Lover and Gibson filed a joint patent for the pickup design.