I'd say that looks considerably better.
I've been trying to fake area lighting in Poser for a good while now, and yeah, a whole shitload of spotlights seems to be the closest I've been able to get.
I'm still finding it hard to believe though that poser 8 doesn't have area lights. To me it seems GI is only halfway there if all you have to work with is straightforward raytraced point or distant lights.