Founded in 2019, French independent brand Awake is now quite well known for its creativity, craftsmanship, and thoughtful approach to watchmaking. After its early space-inspired Mission to Earth watches, the brand moved in a more sophisticated direction in 2024 with the introduction of the Son Mai Silver Leaf collection, which brought a genuine métier d’art to an accessible price point. Now, Awake revisits the collection with four new Vignette dials and a redesigned case.
The Updated 38mm case
The series adopts a redesigned 38mm stainless steel case, and the Son Mai Silver Leaf now offers the more compact proportions introduced earlier this year with the brand’s Guilloché collection. The 316L steel case measures 44.75mm from lug to lug and is 11.5mm thick with the anti-reflective sapphire crystal, or 10mm without it. Another sapphire crystal in the screw-down caseback reveals the automatic movement. Water resistance is 100m. The caseback ring is engraved with the brand’s mission, “Illuminating the hands and heritage behind rare crafts”, alongside “Artisanship, Awakened”.
The dial is made by combining silver leaf gilding with Son Mai lacquer. The technique involves applying delicate sheets of silver leaf over a prepared lacquer base, before adding coloured pigments. With about twelve successive layers of natural lacquer, each layer is sanded and polished individually.
The return of the Vignette Dials
For these new editions, Awake introduces four gradient Vignette colours inspired by the aesthetic of 1970s and 1980s watchmaking. Indian Red offers deep, warm red tones, while Java Green explores a spectrum of greens. Gentian Blue brings a serene mix of blue shades, and Purple Viola is the boldest one. The first three join the permanent collection, while Purple Viola is a numbered limited edition of 200 pieces. Production of the permanent colours will be limited to a maximum of 100 dials per year, per colour.
The hands and applied hour markers also retain Awake’s unusual “construction”. The brand uses solid BGW9 luminous bases topped with small, sculpted steel caps. These caps conceal the luminous material during daylight, which then emits a subtle halo in darkness.
The La Joux-Perret G101 automatic calibre, an alternative to the ETA 2824, powers the series. Operating at 28,800 vibrations/hour, it provides a 68-hour power reserve. The exhibition caseback reveals a tungsten oscillating weight, machined from a solid block and decorated with alternating recessed and raised surfaces, with brushed, micro-blasted and polished finishes.
Straps, Availability & Price
For the straps, Awake partners with French leather specialists Maison Jean Rousseau and Bouveret. Available in Alcantara or nubuck, they are lined with rubberised calfskin and feature curved quick-release spring bars. The pin buckle offers micro-adjustment, allowing the wearer to fine-tune the fit by up to 3mm. Green, grey, blue and red options are available, depending on the model. All versions are priced at EUR 2,640, including VAT, and are now available for order. For more information, please visit awakewatches.com.
Shoto Todoroki is one of the Big Three of U.A. High School’s Class 1-A in My Hero Academia. His mastery of the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk allows him to take on some of the most powerful villains head-on, outclassing even Pro Heroes with years of combat experience.
Of course, Shoto’s formidable combat prowess wouldn’t be possible without the power-ups he unlocks throughout the series. As he learns to embrace both sides of his Quirk, Shoto eventually develops new abilities that significantly enhance his strength, making him an even more formidable force in My Hero Academia.
7
Shoto Uses Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall in More Ways Than One
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups-heaven piercing ice wall
Shoto’s signature move from the Sports Festival is none other than Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, which he famously unleashes against Hanta Sero and Katsuki Bakugo during their one-on-one battles. Throughout the series, Shoto continues to rely on this versatile technique for offense, defense, and team battles, making it one of his most useful power-ups.
On the battlefield, Shoto uses Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall to block incoming attacks, restrain criminals, and even propel himself forward using the massive ice ridge it creates. He can also use the technique to charge directly at his opponents, turning a defensive ability into an effective offensive weapon. Additionally, Shoto can freely adjust the size of his ice walls depending on the situation and his needs.
6
Shoto Takes Endeavor’s Flashfire Fist to an Entirely New Level
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups-flashfire fist
Although Flashfire Fist isn’t Shoto’s signature technique, as it was originally developed by Endeavor, he uses this powerful ability multiple times throughout the series, including during his battle against the Humarise’s Leviathan in the movies. By raising his flames to their maximum temperature, Shoto significantly increases his destructive power, allowing him to unleash devastating one-hit finisher attacks.
Eventually, Shoto develops his own variation of Endeavor’s Flashfire Fist, taking the technique to a whole new level with the creation of Phosphor. Rather than relying on just one half of his Quirk, Shoto combines both his ice and fire abilities, producing cold fire that can simultaneously burn and freeze his targets upon contact.
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5
Jet Kindling Allows Shoto to Unleash Explosive Firepower With His Fists
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups
Among Shoto’s fire-based techniques in My Hero Academia, Jet Kindling is undoubtedly one of his most powerful attacks. It allows him to unleash a violent burst of flames that burns his opponents upon impact. More impressively, Shoto can trigger its devastating effects without directly hitting his target, provided he executes the attack with a punching motion.
During some of the most challenging battles in My Hero Academia, Jet Kindling proves to be a reliable technique, allowing Shoto to concentrate intense flames around his fists and overpower formidable opponents. He can even combine this attack with other heroes’ abilities, as shown during the Final War when he teams up with Nejire Hado to unleash an even more powerful Ultimate Move.
4
Flashfreeze Heatwave Gives Shoto an Attack That Can Match Izuku’s One For All at Full Power
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups
Shoto is an incredibly intelligent fighter on the battlefield, capable of unleashing devastating combination attacks that make his Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk even more formidable. In particular, the Flashfreeze Heatwave attack shows Shoto’s exceptional ability to take advantage of his surroundings, particularly the air around him. Shoto first cools the surrounding air with his ice before rapidly heating and expanding it with his flames, creating a devastating explosion.
Alternatively, Shoto can perform Flashfreeze Heatwave by sending massive chunks of ice at his opponents before following up with a barrage of fireballs. This combination produces a powerful long-range explosion capable of overwhelming his targets. In the series, this power-up is even strong enough to match Izuku’s One For All Quirk at full power.
3
Shoto’s Phosphor Counters Dabi’s Blue Flames
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups
Developing Shoto’s Phosphor is no easy task, as finding the perfect balance between his ice and fire abilities requires considerable time, effort, concentration, and talent. However, all this hard work eventually pays off, allowing Shoto to reap the benefits of his powerful new ability. Not only does Phosphor grant him remarkable resistance to heat-based attacks, including Dabi’s superior Blue Flames, but it also gives him a significant advantage against opponents with pyrokinetic Quirks.
When activated, Phosphor creates a massive X-shaped pattern extending from Shoto’s chest, channeling both halves of his Quirk and merging them into a single, devastating ability. Its flames take the form of cold fire, which is incredibly hot and cold to the touch, allowing Shoto to unleash powerful Ultimate Moves such as Great Glacial Aegir and Coldflame’s Pale Blade.
2
Coldflame’s Pale Blade Turns Shoto’s Ice and Fire Into a Powerful Piercing Weapon
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups
Coldflame’s Pale Blade is one of Shoto Todoroki’s Ultimate Moves that he can only perform through Phosphor. Without this power-up, Shoto couldn’t generate enough ice and fire energy to unleash this devastating close-range piercing attack.
True to its name, Coldflame’s Pale Blade allows Shoto to conjure a massive blade combining ice and fire, which he can use to pierce his opponents with a powerful, concentrated strike. More impressively, Shoto can extend the attack’s reach by dispersing the blade into a barrage of combined ice and fire projectiles. During his Final War showdown with Dabi, Shoto unleashes this move at point-blank range, sending the villain flying a considerable distance.
1
Shoto’s Great Glacial Aegir Can Extinguish Dabi’s Inferno
my hero academia shoto todoroki strongest power-ups
One of the Ultimate Moves Shoto develops through Flashfire Fist: Phosphor is Great Glacial Aegir. This versatile close and long-range ultimate attack sees Shoto charge toward his opponent while building Phosphor in his right hand before unleashing a devastating punch infused with cold fire.
During his battle against Dabi in the Final War, Great Glacial Aegir is powerful enough to extinguish Dabi’s Blue Flames, prevent his Inferno from spreading, and temporarily incapacitate the villain. When Shoto unleashes an even more powerful version of the attack a second time, he successfully stops Dabi’s impending explosion, showing the incredibly destructive and freezing potential of his cold fire.
A hit and run in Muntinlupa City turned fatal after the father of the girl in the accident was allegedly beaten to death by the motorcycle rider and his friends.
In July, NASA launched an ambitious mission in an attempt to extend the life of its rapidly aging Swift observatory. After making major contributions to our understanding of the cosmos for over 20 years, the observatory’s orbit has been rapidly decaying, with the situation now terminal.
By using a spacecraft designed and built by startup Katalyst Space Technologies, the space agency was hoping to nudge the observatory into a higher and more stable orbit. But the rushed mission didn’t achieve its lofty goal, with Katalyst’s spacecraft tumbling out of control months into its daring journey.
Now, Swift is set to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere in a matter of days, as Space.com reports — and nobody knows where its remains will plummet down.
According to an October 23 update by the space agency, the observatory has started “to sink rapidly” thanks to an increase in atmospheric drag triggered by an eleventh-hour return to science observations. By mid-October, its orbit had reached just 171 miles, a point at which it was “no longer able to compensate for the effects of the increased drag.”
Swift is just one of countless objects on a trajectory to careen down through our planet’s atmosphere. Experts expect most of the observatory to burn up, with only remnant pieces surviving the ordeal.
“It is unfortunate that Swift was not ‘reorbited,’ but from a reentry hazard perspective it is a small portion of the stuff coming back in,” LeoLabs senior technical fellow Darren McKnight told Space.com, adding that it’s unlikely to pose a hazard to people back on the ground.
Swift’s deteriorating orbit also puts it only within roughly 21 degrees of the Earth’s equator, which is predominantly open ocean.
Accu Components aerospace parts supplier Accu Components quality manager Dean Sladen told Space.com that the telescope’s “six heavy reaction wheels, the spinning flywheels it used to aim itself, along with tougher telescope parts such as lenses and mirrors” are most likely to survive reentry.
While we won’t have to worry about Swift causing damage on the surface, it’s only one spacecraft’s worth of space junk compared to the litany of debris making it through our planet’s protective bubble. As the Earth’s orbit becomes increasingly cluttered with space junk, the sheer amount of stuff that comes crashing down is increasing year by year, from errant stages of Chinese rockets to long-lost Soviet satellites.
More on Swift:NASA Telescope Careening Down to Earth After Failed Rescue Mission
SAVE $250: Two configurations of the M5 Apple MacBook Air are $250 off at Amazon and Best Buy. Get a 13- or 15-inch model with 16GB of RAM and a full 1TB of storage starting at $1,349.
$1,349 at Amazon
$1,599 Save $250
$1,549 at Amazon
$1,799 Save $250
Some of the Black Friday MacBook deals we expected to see later this month have arrived early. As of Nov. 9, Amazon and Best Buy are both selling two popular configurations of the Apple MacBook Air (M5) for $250 off, a discount that completely erases their summer price hikes —and then some.
The best tech deal this week
The Apple iPhone 18 Pro is free right now with T-Mobile
For the uninitiated, the M5 MacBook Air is a Mashable Choice Award winner. Tech editor Timothy Beck Werth called it “an impressive piece of machinery” with a premium, lightweight design, a “fantastic” display, and a ridiculously fast processor.(Read his full MacBook Air review.) This is the most recent version of the MacBook Air, as Apple’s recent MacBook releases focused solely on the Pro models.
The 13-inch MacBook Air with 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage has fallen to $1,349 (normally $1,599), while its 15-inch counterpart is marked down to $1,549 (typically $1,799). The other configurations of Apple’s sleek and speedy ultraportable are all $200 off, which isn’t too shabby in the age of RAMageddon.
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We feel confident recommending these MacBook deals to early-bird shoppers. Last Black Friday, no MacBook discounts exceeded $250. In 2024, Amazon offered $255 off a couple of models, but we don’t think an extra $5 in savings is worth waiting several weeks for. At that point, you risk your preferred model selling out.
Microsoft Entra has introduced Conditional Access policy plans in public preview.
Organizations can define shared conditions once and apply multiple enforcement rules within a single plan.
Migration tools are available, but administrators will need to review, test, and restructure existing policies.
As organizations expand their use of Conditional Access policies, managing access controls becomes increasingly complex. Security teams often create multiple policies with overlapping users, exclusions, and conditions, which leads to policy sprawl and administrative overhead. This challenge is growing even further as organizations begin securing new identity types such as AI agents.
The result is a higher risk of configuration errors, security gaps, inconsistent enforcement, and slower audits or troubleshooting. Administrators may struggle to understand why a specific access decision was made, while duplicated policies can make governance and maintenance difficult at scale.
A single framework supports users, applications, and AI agents
To address these issues, Microsoft Entra has introduced Conditional Access policy plans in public preview. This new framework allows organizations to define shared conditions once and apply multiple enforcement rules within a single plan.
Policy plans centralize ownership, simplify management, provide clearer visibility into access decisions, and make it easier to apply the same Zero Trust controls across users, applications, and AI agents. Microsoft also includes migration tools that help customers gradually convert existing Conditional Access policies into the new structure without disrupting current protections.
Better governance requires upfront planning
Keep in mind that organizations must invest time in restructuring and validating their existing policy estates. Migration can be performed gradually, and existing policies remain active during the transition, but administrators will need to review new policy plans, test rules in report-only mode, and adapt governance processes to take full advantage of the new model.
However, Microsoft argues that the added planning effort is offset by improved scalability, stronger policy consistency, and easier long-term management.
