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A billion-dollar class-action lawsuit against Apple is expected to continue after a 65-year-old Massachusetts business consultant read about the plaintiffs' floundering case online and volunteered to represent consumers in the suit.

A federal judge said she was tentatively satisfied with a proposal to add Barbara Bennett the new named plaintiff in the lawsuit over Apple's iTunes software and the price of its iPods. 

The case actually started with three plaintiffs suing Apple nearly 10 years ago, but two of them withdrew and the judge disqualified the last one, Marianna Rosen, on Monday amid indications that Rosen didn't herself purchase any of the affected iPods during the time frame covered by the suit.  

'We were very scared': Video testimony from Steve Jobs recorded months before his death was today shown in court as Apple is accused of abusing its monopoly position in the digital music player market. Earlier this week, lawyers claimed it had deliberately deleted rivals' song from iPods from 2007 to 2009. But, the tech giant has challenged the suit after presenting evidence suggesting the plaintiffs' models of iPod may be invalid

Bennett, who sometimes used her iPod to listen to music while ice skating, boarded a plane early Tuesday and flew to California at the request of lawyers who are suing Apple Inc. on behalf of an estimated 8 million consumers who purchased iPods between 2006 and 2009 in the latest twist in the trial.

Bennett, who said she bought a special-edition iPod Nano in 2006 because she liked its striking red case, contacted the lawyers and offered to help after reading an online news account that said the case was close to collapsing for lack of a named plaintiff. 

Attorneys suing Apple have alleged that its use of restrictive software, which kept iPods from playing music purchased from competitors of Apple's iTunes store, effectively blocked rivals from the market and allowed the Cupertino, California company to sell iPods at inflated prices. Apple says the software was necessary to prevent unauthorized copying. The plaintiffs are seeking $350 million in damages, which could be tripled if the jury finds violations of federal antitrust law.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has repeatedly shown impatience with the plaintiffs' attorneys for not doing a better job of vetting the original named plaintiffs in the case, who are supposed to represent the class of affected consumers.

'We shouldn't have been here in the first place,' Rogers said as attorneys on both sides debated how to proceed Tuesday morning. A moment later, the judge sharply disagreed when plaintiffs' lawyer Patrick Coughlin suggested his side had suffered when Apple provided an incorrect list - which was later amended - of affected iPod models three years ago.

'You never checked' whether the last plaintiff had purchased the right models, the judge told Coughlin. 'So don't talk to me' about that,' she added.

Bennett's answers to questions in court suggested she wasn't fully up to speed on the complex allegations in the case, but Rogers said she was tentatively satisfied that Bennett qualifies for the job of class representative. The judge said she won't rule until Apple attorneys have a chance to question Bennett more closely in a deposition outside court.

Apple shares closed up $1.72 at $114.12 on Tuesday.

The latest twist comes after than three years after his death, legendary Apple CEO Steve Jobs held an Oakland courtroom transfixed as attorneys played a video of his testimony in a class-action lawsuit that accuses Apple of inflating prices by locking music lovers into using Apple's iPod players.

Looking gaunt and pale, Jobs spoke softly during the deposition he gave six months before his death in October 2011. 

Despite this, he gave a firm defense of Apple's software, which blocked music from services that competed with Apple's iTunes store.

'We were very scared' of the prospect that hackers could break Apple's security system, Jobs said, because that might jeopardize Apple's contracts with music recording companies that didn't want their songs to be pirated. 

'We would get nasty emails from the labels,' he added.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs stands next to a projection of an iPod Nano at an Apple announcement in San Francisco. Dressed in his trademark black turtleneck and blue jeans, Jobs appeared impatient at times and swivelled in his chair during the interview session shown in court, which was recorded at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Jobs was known for having a short temper. 

But he seemed unruffled when an attorney for the plaintiffs read part of an email in which the Apple CEO demanded that a record company executive publicly apologize for praising rival RealNetworks for producing software that would make songs from the RealNetworks store play on Apple's iPods.

Dressed in his trademark black turtleneck and blue jeans, Jobs appeared impatient at times and swiveled in his chair during the session, which was recorded at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. 

He said he didn't remember why he was upset with the recording executive. 

But he acknowledged that he had proposed language for an Apple press release that condemned RealNetworks as a 'hacker.'

'We are stunned that Real has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod, and we are investigating the implications of their actions' under federal law, the release said. 

Claimants say Apple's (co-founder Steve Job is pictured) restrictive software froze out competitors. Apple stopped using the software in 2009, which means the lawsuit only covers models bought until March 2009. But serial numbers show plaintiff Marianna Rosen's iPod was bought in July 2009