Corel’s latest suite of graphics design tools, CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2017, arrived in April, packing new features such as a touch-friendly user interface, interactive sliders, the ability to import legacy workspaces, and support for the Microsoft Surface Dial. However, the suite also includes a new LiveSketch tool for free-form sketching using a stylus, including Microsoft’s latest Surface Pen peripheral.
“We went all-in developing a natural, fluid experience with the new Surface Pen,” says Gérard Métrailler, Corel’s vice president of global products. “It gives us opportunity to zoom in, pan, and move around very naturally.”
With LiveSketch, CorelDraw artists can now sketch directly on the screen just like they would with pen and paper. Métrailler says the software understands the intent of the designer, making it the first graphics design software product to provide “pen-first” input. The technology fades into the background, allowing artists to focus on their work rather than fight with inputs and screens.
According to Corel, LiveSketch is based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. That means the software adapts to the artist’s style, whether they use folded strokes, overlapping strokes, or chicken scratch-based strokes. The software includes a timer as well, so artists can create and shape their lines before they become “final” in the artwork.
The first-generation Surface Pen arrived alongside the Surface Pro in 2012. Since then, Microsoft’s peripheral has endured several generations of enhancements and refinements up until the release of Microsoft’s fifth-generation Surface Pro 2-in-1 last month. The digital pen is now offered as a stand-alone product, supporting the Surface Book with Performance Boost, the Surface Laptop, the Surface Studio, and Surface-branded devices.
Microsoft says the latest Surface Pen is “better than ever” with a precision ink tip on one end, a rubber eraser on the other, and support for tilt shading for a more natural, artistic input and style. It consists of 4,096 pressure points that responds to the lightest of touches, and weighs a mere 0.04 pounds. The rubber “tail” eraser serves as a button in addition to the button located on the pen’s narrow barrel.
“The tilt mechanism lets me really control the curves and be more precise with the vectors,” says artist José-Tzontlimatzi-López. “The pen is essentially an extension of my hand.”
The full version of CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2017 costs $500, while the upgrade from previous versions costs $200. Corel provides a subscription plan too for $198 a year, which breaks down to $16.50 per month. While that may some a little expensive, the suite includes seven programs including CorelDraw 2017, Corel Power Trace 2017, Corel Website Creator, and more.
Did you think hitting delete on your AI chatbot conversation actually makes it disappear? Georgia Tech researchers just proved that's not entirely true. They have built a forensic tool called ORISA that can dig deleted conversations from your phone and even rebuild them into a working chatbot session you can keep talking to.
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Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.