Yes you can but it takes a while to download. Only about 15-30 mins.
no it is currently $26.95 to get the full 1.4.5 update version.
minecraft's latest version as of June 2016 is 1.10 (The Frostburn Update).
When a Minecraft update comes out, your game will automatically update to the newest version. However, you can change what version you are on by clicking edit profile on the launcher.
After 1.8.8 the next update to Minecraft was 1.8.9, followed by the 1.9 update.
The current version of Minecraft that is out is 1.12.2, part of the "World of Colour" update.
The Minecraft launcher (when you first start the game) will ask you, when there is an update available, if you want to update or keep the old version.
Currently, the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft is running 1.6.6 beta. This update came out before the adventure update of 1.8. It will take a while for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft to catch up to the PC version of the game.
You can play the demo version or Minecraft Classic on the Minecraft website.
When an update is released Minecraft will ask you if you want to update as it starts.You can update Minecraft manually by downloading the version, weekly update or pr-release you want as minecraft.jar, and replacing the minecraft.jar in the bin folder of the Minecraft directory
It updates Minecraft to the latest released version.
There is no way to get the full version of minecraft for free, but you can play Minecraft Classic for free.
To get Minecraft for free, you need to download it on Xbox.