And so it begins in earnest. The lines are emerging across the country for the iPhone. At this point (iPhone minus 21 hours or so), there are limited lines at some of the larger and more prominent Apple Stores.

It sounds like many stores have very small lines at this point, but a few have a lot of excitement, according to AppleInsider.

It will be a long day of waiting tomorrow, but it should be exciting!

Good luck to all of the iPhone line-sitters out there!

Steve Jobs became every Apple employee’s favorite boss today.

At a special company-wide communications meeting, Steve Jobs addressed Apple employees nationwide and gave everyone a last-minute pep talk about the importance of the iPhone to the company (and the world).

But the best part must have been the news that Apple is giving every employee who has been with the company for at least a year a free 8GB iPhone!

It’s a classy and smart move on Jobs’ and Apple’s part. Lots of goodwill all around. The employees will get their iPhones by the end of July, when Apple anticipates that the initial demand will begin to slow.

For more, see Ars Technica’s coverage.