It's gloves-off time for two of Silicon Valley's darlings, and if they're not careful, one of them might get their hair mussed.

[ Even when Google and Apple don't see eye to eye, they still have their sights set on one rival: Microsoft. Get Cringely's take on the Microsoft-Yahoo deal and its implications for the frenemies. | Stay up to date on Robert X. Cringely's musings and observations with InfoWorld's Notes from the Underground newsletter. ]

Last week, Google CEO Eric Schmidt jumped -- or was pushed -- off the Apple Board of Directors, and Apple's terse announcement of same was less "thanks for your years of support and dedication" and more "see ya, wouldn't want to be ya."

Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.

Next thing you know, they'll be crossing out each other's names on their PeeChee folders and writing "LUZR" instead.

Of course, Schmidt couldn't have been too pleased when the Inscrutable Mandarins who run the iPhone App Store summarily booted all Google Voice applications, because they committed the most heinous crime of all: duplicating (or improving upon) functions already built into the Jesus Phone.

Now the FCC wants to know what exactly Apple had in mind when it muted Google Voice, and whether these two kids will be able to play nicely together in the future.