1 - I don't believe you can use Minecraft without Microsoft any more - Mojang accounts were discontinued in favour of Microsoft accounts, and unmigrated accounts were deleted in 2023.
2 - Many updates have happened, but the launcher still lets you download and play every single version released, from major (x.), minor (.xx), to snapshots and one day specials, to the very first working version. Note: the first version is also available to play online for free. The last non-Microsoft update was 1.7.2 I believe
Motherfucker I'd better get started archiving